The Raido Impact
by bloomacncheez
Summary: A new Keronian has landed on Pekopon. Although his perky demeanor helped him befriend our beloved Platoon, he has a shadowed past. Will the Keroro Platoon be able to help him win back the Platoon that was rightfully his? No critique or flames. R&R.
1. Raido, the Intrusion de arimasu

**Raido, the Unexpected "Intrusion" ... de arimasu.**

Tamama suddenly rushed into the room screaming, "Keroro! Keroro!"

"Whaaaaaaaat…?" Keroro groaned. What could Tamama possibly need at such an important hour? Didn't he know exactly how important Keroro's Gunpla time was to him?

"Gunso… Gunso…" Tamama panted. Keroro tapped his foot impatiently.

"Daylight's a-wastin' Private, spit it out," he hissed. Meanwhile, Giroro and Kururu gazed at the two with great interest. After Tamama caught his breath, he stood up straight; his eyes wide and bloodshot.

"We have another Keronian among us!" he exclaimed.

"Gero?!" Keroro gasped.

"Ku ku ku, another one…?" Kururu cackled. Giroro got up and cocked his gun.

"Is he hostile?" he asked irately.

"I-I don't know…" Tamama stuttered, "Some Pekoponian boy came in with him. Fuyuki let him in…"

"Well… SOMEBODY has to go check him out," Keroro said. All eyes fell on Tamama. He became frantic.

"Why hand me off?!" he wailed.

"You want to make a good impression on Gunso don't you?" Giroro grinned, pushing him back out the door, "So go bring up the new intruder…" Tamama trembled before walking back up the ladder. He could feel his other personality tingling inside. He feared that it would break out in any second.

As he finally got back up the ladder, Fuyuki, spotted him.

"Oh, there you are. You were here one second and gone another. Where did you go, Tamama?" he asked. Tamama restrained his demon side and twitched.

"N-Nowhere…" he replied simply. The boy with the Keronian that Tamama had encountered earlier walked into the room. Fuyuki noticed him and smiled.

"Hey, Masaru, I don't know if you met Tamama," he said. Masaru smiled at Tamama innocently.

"Hi, Tamama. Nice to meet you," he greeted. He had black spiked hair and an orange shirt with a diamond design on it. Behind his legs was the Keronian. He was a red frog with a blue hat and had a lightning bolt symbol on his stomach and forehead. He had big sparkling black eyes similar to Tamama's. He seemed tired and somewhat depressed. Masaru looked down at him.

"This is Raido, he's one of you guys, right?" he asked. Tamama looked over the other Keronian a bit. Even if he WAS hostile, he didn't seem to be in the mood to put up a fight of any sort. Tamama's inner demon seemed to settle down and leave.

"Raido… say hello, to Tamama," Masaru said quietly. Raido looked up at Tamama slowly. He pitifully rose his hand in attempt to wave but let it fall limply back to his side before trying to walk off. Masaru quickly stopped him. He looked up at Fuyuki and Tamama, who were both confused by Raido's actions.

"I'm really sorry, he's been like this ever since I found him," Masaru apologized.

"Maybe I can help," Tamama volunteered. Raido looked up from the floor at Tamama, expressing very subtle curiosity.

"Thanks, Tamama, I was hoping you could," Masaru smiled. Tamama looked over at Raido and smiled

"C'mon! You should come meet Gunso the others!" he said. Raido no longer seemed depressed, but he still didn't speak, nor did he smile. He followed Tamama down the ladder back to where Keroro and the other members of the Keroro Platoon were.

"You'll really like my friends. They'll help cheer you up, I can guarantee it!" Tamama said. Raido said nothing. "Gunso-san is very good at helping people cheer up." Raido still didn't speak. He seemed lost in thought. Tamama stopped smiling and watched his feet. "You're really quiet…" Predictably, Raido didn't reply. As they walked through the door to their room, Tamama looked around; the room was empty and the lights were all off.

"W-where did they go?" Tamama asked. As Raido walked in, the lights flashed on and Giroro and Kururu flew out of nowhere pointing guns at him.

"FREEZE, INTRUDER!" Giroro yelled. Kururu pointed a rather strange looking gun at him.

"Or be blasted to rather small bits. Kukuku…" he grinned. Raido was now in a panic. Tamama defended him.

"PLEASE DON'T SHOOT!" he shrieked. Keroro stepped in.

"Gero, gero, gero…" he cackled, "Welcome intruder. I see that you have met Second Class Private Tamama. May I introduce you to Corporal Giroro and Sergeant Major Kururu. And I am Sergeant Keroro. I'll have you know that what ever tricks you have up your sleeve are not a match for me nor my platoon, so do not test us." Raido stared at him. Tamama felt he should mention Raido's condition before Keroro took this as a "suspect caught" expression. However, Raido was able to fend for himself.

"Are you NUTS?!" Raido yelled.

"Gero?!" Keroro yelped, obviously surprised by this outburst.

"Why would you assume that I'm here to wipe you all out?! Or do you also work for that old toad?!" he inquired.

"Raido! You can speak!" Tamama interrupted. Raido looked back to reply, but as he did so, Kururu pulled the trigger on his gun and a spring shot out, wrapping around Raido.

"AAH! WHAT THE HECK, MAN?! I JUST SAID I'M NOT HERE TO WIPE YOU ALL OUT, WHAT PART DIDN'T YOU UNDERSTAND?!" he yelled.

"Ku, ku, ku," Kururu giggled, "Don't think we trust easy."

"OH, COME ON!" Raido screamed.

"Very good job, Kururu," Keroro praised, "Now, we can run some simple tests to check our intruder."

"I'M NOT AN INTRUDER! MASARU AND I WERE INVITED HERE BY YOUR PEKOPONIAN GIRL!" Raido yelled.

"Your lies won't help you, alien creature," Keroro said simply.

"I'M JUST AS KERONIAN AS YOU!"

"Oh really? Then let's see us an afro," Keroro shot. Raido's frown loosened and he cocked his head slightly.

"Heh?" he asked.

"Let me see your afro, that's proof enough to me," Keroro replied. Raido became quiet. Kururu sighed and grabbed Raido's hat, yanking it off.

"HEY, WAIT! GIVE IT BACK!" Raido panicked. Keroro frowned as he took notice to Raido's hair. It was short, light brown, and spiked. No afro.

"Humph, some Keronian you are," he huffed. Kururu snickered and slapped Raido's hat back on. Tamama frowned.

"Hey, that doesn't prove a thing. Besides, afros are just something the Keroro Platoon shares," he pointed out. Keroro sighed.

"Oh, fine, but how else can we test him?" he asked.

"Ask me trivial questions," Raido sighed, "The Planet is Planet Keron, the capital is-"

"Not so fast," Keroro interjected, "You could've easily looked that up on your alien planet Internet."

"I'M FROM THE SAME PLANET AS YOU!" Raido insisted.

"And you always will be," Giroro sighed, rolling his eyes. Raido became confused.

"Wait. What?" he blinked.

"Well, I just came up with a new invention for this kind of intrusion. Kukuku…" Kururu cackled.

"Oh really?! Let us see!" Keroro said excitedly. Kururu pulled out another gun that was small and light blue. It had a small screen on the side.

"I call this the 'Reveal and Expose' gun," Kururu exclaimed proudly.

"Ohh, it's shiny!" Keroro squealed. Giroro slapped his forehead.

"Whatever, has it ever been used before?" he asked.

"Kukuku," Kururu giggled, "This would be the first run…" Raido's face expressed horror. Kururu aimed the gun at him. "Now hold still, this may sting… a lot. Kukuku!!"

"WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! I'M NOT HERE TO BE A LAB RAT SO YOU CAN TEST OUT YOUR INVENTIONS!" Raido screamed. Kururu laughed and pulled the trigger. A wave of electricity buzzed out and shocked Raido. When it finished, Raido flinched.

"Owwwww…" he said quietly.

"Well?! What does it say?!" Keroro asked. Kururu shrugged.

"It doesn't matter. It needs two pieces of input," he replied. Keroro shrugged.

"Well, get some info from another one in the room," he said. Kururu stared at him awhile. Finally a small demonic grin formed on his face. Keroro then realized that the others were also gazing at him.

"N-Now, Kururu… don't look at me like that…" he said nervously.

"Kukuku…" Kururu grinned.

"I mean it! Don't do anything rash!"

And Kururu pulled the trigger again. Keroro was shocked.

"HOLY KERO! WHAT ON PLANET KERON ARE YOU INVENTING THESE DAYS, SGT. MAJOR?!" he shrieked, shaking violently as the aftermath.

"Kukuku! But it works! That's the good news!" Kururu giggled, glancing at the screen.

"Next time, use Dororo, not me," Keroro scowled. Kururu suddenly looked surprised as he looked at the screen.

"What? What was that face for?" Giroro asked. Kururu began giggling uncontrollably.

"HE'S A KERONIAN!" he laughed.

"Why is that funny?!" Tamama asked.

"Because we just abused him for no reason," Kururu laughed. Giroro frowned.

"You heartless little whack job," he snarled. Tamama quickly released Raido from the spring.

"I'm really sorry about that, Raido…" he apologized. Raido straightened his hat.

"It's alright… I just wish I could've been trusted the first time."

"We apologize, Raido. My subordinates get so antsy over other Keronians, y'know?" Keroro asked. Giroro and Kururu snapped an angry glare at Keroro.

"WHAT?! YOU WERE JUST AS IN ON THAT AS US!" Giroro yelled.

"Yes, but who was the one pointing a gun in his face?" Keroro asked. Giroro pointed at Kururu; Kururu pointed back at Giroro. Keroro rolled his eyes. "Exactly."

"Well, the important thing is that now we don't have to worry about Raido being 'dangerous,'" Tamama said.

"Yep, so you don't have to worry about us anymore," Keroro said. Suddenly the air vent on the ceiling popped open and Lance Corporal Dororo flew in. He shivered.

"Hoo! It's chilly in there!" he exclaimed. He looked over at the other five and eyed Raido. He gasped.

"AN INTRUDER!" he exclaimed.

"NO, DORORO!" the other four screamed. Raido slapped his forehead and groaned.

After that mess was settled, Raido was almost fully trusted by the Keroro Platoon. Just… almost.

"Alright, since Dororo has kindly decided to join us, I find this the perfect opportunity to have a meeting on our next attempt on the intrusion of Pekopon," Keroro said. Then he glanced at Raido. He stared at him awhile. Then he sighed, "Never mind. We'll just wait until you leave." Raido frowned.

"Well, I'm sorry if my presence bothers you," he snorted.

"He didn't mean it like that, Raido," Dororo said, "He's just concerned that you might use the idea as your own." Raido rolled his eyes.

"Please, I gave up on the whole invade planets thing years ago," he sighed.

"Then why are you here?" Giroro asked. Raido made a short sarcastic laugh-like noise.

"Are you kidding? It's not like I meant to come here," he said.

"What?" Tamama asked.

"What wonderful weather we're having," Raido replied, "Go ahead and talk your little Platoon meeting thing. Don't worry, I don't understand a word of it."

"But-" Tamama started.

"Great! Thanks!" Keroro grinned, "Now then…"

_Kerokerokerokero…_

_Tamatamatamatama…_

_Girogirogirogiro…_

_Kurukurukurukuru…_

…

"Come on, Dororo, you want to join in, you know you do," Keroro said.

"Absolutely not, Keroro," Dororo snapped, "I recall telling you that I don't wish to take part in an invasion. I believe we are on this planet for different reasons." There was small snickering. Keroro glanced over at Raido who was covering his mouth and stifling laughter.

"May I inquire what you find humorous?" he asked.

"Is that how every meeting starts out…?" Raido giggled.

"Yeah, so?"

"THAT WAS JUST WEIRD!" Raido laughed, rolling on the floor. (rofl.) It was the first time any of them had seen him smile.

"Hey, this isn't your Platoon! So don't mock our performance!" Keroro snapped.

"Sorry, it's just… I've never heard anything like that before. It's… different to me," Raido giggled, getting up off the floor.

"So, then, Mr. Smarty-Pants, what does YOUR Platoon do?" Keroro asked. Raido stopped smiling at once and grew very quiet. He seemed to become depressed again.

"I…I…" he muttered. They all waited for an answer. He finally said quietly, "I don't…" He broke off.

"You don't what…?" Tamama asked. Raido suddenly seemed to try to fake optimism.

"What wonderful weather we're having! I hope it stays this way!" he fake-smiled.

"Raido… do you have a Platoon?" Tamama asked. Raido covered his… ear holes.

"Rain, sleet, snow, or hail, we deliver what you mail! Lucky for the postman the weather is so nice!" he exclaimed.

"The whatman?" Keroro asked.

"Ignore him, he's just babbling. Must be some aftershock from Kururu's stupid invention," Giroro said. Kururu frowned.

"Pah, you just wish you had a brain like I do, Kukuku…" he snapped.

As Keroro continued with the meeting, Tamama glanced back at Raido. He had seemed to grow depressed again as he watched the Platoon. He seemed even more upset when the others would laugh about some goofy remark that Keroro made. It made Tamama wonder what was going through his head.

There were only few things that he knew about Raido. One, he was here on Earth by accident. He had been depressed since Masaru had found him. He was not interested in invading planets. He knew few things about Platoons. He might not even have a Platoon. And he didn't have an afro like many other Keronians. Raido was an interesting find. Tamama tried fitting in all of the pieces of information together to form a conclusion but he couldn't come up with anything that made sense.

"Right, Private?" Keroro asked. Tamama suddenly looked over at Keroro, realizing that he had missed at least half an hour of what was said.

"What?" he asked. Giroro gave an irritated sigh.

"He asked you if you thought his idea was fool proof," he said. Tamama blinked.

"Y-Yeah, totally," he said. Kururu cackled.

"Do you even know what the plan was?" he asked. Tamama scoffed.

"Duh," he said.

"Kukuku... What was it then?" Kururu asked. Silence.

"Um…" Tamama said nervously, "What wonderful weather we're having?" Raido began laughing. Keroro rubbed his face wearily.

"Ohhhh…" he sighed, "Never mind…"


	2. Raido, Spark of Inspiration… de arimasu

**Sparks of inspiration… de arimasu**

The following day, Tamama had only walked a few blocks away Momoka's house when he spotted Masaru in his front yard raking leaves. He walked up to him curiously.

"Hi, Masaru," he chirped. Masaru looked up from his work and noticed the young Keronian.

"Oh, hello, Tamama. On your way to the Hinata residence?" he asked with a smile.

"Yeah. Where's Raido?"

"He should be inside doing his chores. He hasn't been moping around today like he usually does. I guess you guys really helped cheer him up." Tamama smiled and sweatdropped, recalling the… rather interesting first impression his team had displayed.

"I guess so," he grinned, "Can I go talk to him?"

"Sure. He's probably upstairs," Masaru replied.

"Thanks, desu," Tamama smiled, going inside the house to find his new friend.

As he got up the stairs he noticed Raido scrubbing away at a large window.

"Hi, Raido!" he called. Raido looked over his shoulder.

"Yo, Tamama," he smiled, "How'd you find me?"

"We don't live too far away; I thought I'd stop by," Tamama replied. Raido rubbed at one last spot on the window before tossing the cloth he was using into a small washtub. He went to a corner and picked up a green skateboard with black stripes and a lightning bolt just like the ones on his stomach and forehead.

"So what's up today? You and your buds hanging out or anything?" he asked.

"Not really. We try to spend time plotting our invasions. None of them are very successful," Tamama sweatdropped.

"Ah, well. It happens. So you guys never take a break once and awhile?"

"Er… more like most of the time. Gunso-san never takes anything seriously." Raido sat thoughtfully.

"Maybe it's because I'm not a Sergeant, but I think working at your own pace is better. Otherwise you just come up with last minute sparks of inspiration that usually end in utter failure," he said.

"Maybe that's true…" Tamama wondered, "We should try convincing Giroro."

"Okay, good luck with that," Raido grinned. Tamama cocked his head.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked.

"Can I? Keroro didn't seem to like it much yesterday," Raido recalled.

"Sure, it's fine with me," Tamama smiled, "Let's go, desu!"

Tamama knocked on the door to the Keroro Platoon's base. The door opened; Keroro had answered. He looked at them funny.

"You brought him back?" he asked Tamama. Raido groaned and rolled his eyes, starting to walk off. Keroro nervously grabbed him back, "Not that we aren't thrilled to have you! Come, come!" He pushed Raido into the base and Tamama followed. Kururu glanced up from his computer and snickered.

"Hello again, Raido. So are you and Tamama gay friends now or something?" he asked. Raido seemed alarmed by this question.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"Kuku, you heard me," Kururu chuckled.

"N-No… I'm not interested in guys. Or anyone much younger than myself," Raido said, hinting at that fact that Tamama was still a tadpole.

"Why do you have to harass him?" Giroro asked, polishing the gun he had pointed at Raido the previous day.

"Getting information," Kururu replied. Raido blinked.

"Why… me…?" he asked.

"He's just nosy, don't mind him," Tamama said, rolling his eyes. Raido snickered.

"Ah, nosy…" he grinned. Keroro, Tamama, Kururu, and Giroro all glanced at him strangely. Raido became nervous. "Why are you guys staring at me like that…?"

"'Nosy' isn't a word that normally strikes someone as funny…" Giroro muttered.

"Well, he is kind of a frog out of water, but we like you anyway," Keroro grinned, patting his head like a pet.

"'Nosy' just brings up some childhood memories, and don't touch my hat, please," Raido replied, shooing Keroro's hand away from his head.

"Oh, do tell!" Keroro exclaimed, "Memories are fun to share!" Raido became quiet.

"I'd rather not… it brings up bad ones too," he said quietly. Keroro dropped it immediately.

"Um… alright. So I was thinking last night about another plot…" he started.

"Finally!" Giroro sighed.

"Let me finish!" Keroro said irritably, "I was thinking about another plot last night, but then I fell asleep in the process-"

"I knew there was a catch…" Giroro growled.

"And I just thought, what if there was something outside-"

"If you'll remember, the Garuru Platoon destroyed 'Little Policeman' awhile back and I haven't had the time to rebuild it," Kururu interrupted.

"And yet you have time to sexually harass me?" Raido asked.

"WOULD YOU PLEASE LISTEN TO ME?!" Keroro shouted.

"No! Your plans always turn out as failures anyway!" Giroro shouted back, "And the counter from the headquarters reads that we only have 162 days left to invade."

"But I really had a good idea this time…" Keroro insisted.

"As you always do," Kururu sighed, typing away at his keyboard swiftly.

"Spark of inspiration," Raido murmured. The other four looked over at him.

"Spark of who?" Giroro asked.

"Inspiration! That's exactly what I was driving at!" Keroro exclaimed, "See, you're a good subordinate, Raido."

"Um… thank you," Raido muttered.

"So, guys, let's go outside!"

"Yaaaay… woooooooot… huzzaaaaah…" Giroro said sarcastically, weakly waving his fist around.

The group went outside and activated their barriers that disabled humans from seeing them.

"Now that we are outside, let's find us a spark of inspiration!" Keroro said.

"Yaaaay… woooooooot… huzzaaaaah…" Giroro said again.

"Y'know, your sarcasm doesn't help anybody," Keroro frowned. They all sat on the grass, gazing at their surroundings. A lively tune played. They all looked down the street at an ice cream truck. Keroro and Tamama both grinned.

"No, no, no! Stay on task!" Giroro snapped. They sighed and slumped forward. As it got quiet, Raido looked around at the group with a bit of confusion.

"Where's Dororo?" he asked.

"You just NOW noticed he wasn't here?" Giroro blinked.

"Kukuku, it's not hard to forget about him," Kururu said.

"That's nice," Raido hissed, fiddling with the wheels on his skateboard. Keroro watched him.

"I think I've got something," he exclaimed. Everyone looked at him anxiously.

"Yes…?" Raido asked.

"With wheels…"

"Yes?" Kururu asked.

"And Pekopon…"

"Yes?!" Tamama asked.

"Might just be…"

"YES?!" Giroro asked eagerly.

"… … …yeah, I got nothin'," Keroro sweatdropped.

"DOH!" Tamama growled. Kururu cackled and Raido shook his head miserably. Giroro slapped his forehead.

"Fool!" he shrieked.

Suddenly a zooming noise sounded off. Raido immediately jerked his head up towards the sky.

"It's back," he said.

"What's back?" Tamama asked. They all looked up at the sky and spotted an airplane. Raido jumped up.

"Excuse me," he said quickly. He mounted his skateboard and took off down the street in the direction of the plane. The other four watched him.

"What the…?" Giroro asked.

"Kukuku, he chases planes…" Kururu snickered.

"An interesting hobby…" Tamama muttered.

"Perhaps it was a spark of inspiration?" Keroro asked. They watched as Raido caught up to it.

"He's really fast…" Tamama said.

"Yeah, I don't think I've seen a Keronian go that fast," Keroro agreed.

"Yeah, and he's about to collide with a truck," Kururu grinned.

Keroro and Tamama abruptly looked over towards Raido. There was a truck heading for him.

"RAIDO, LOOK OUT!" they yelled out. Raido didn't notice them, or the truck.

"I can't look!" Keroro gasped, throwing his hands over his eyes, "Tamama, be my eyes." Tamama was somewhat flattered by this "honor" though he feared the worst for their new friend.

Just as Raido and the truck came within three feet of each other, Dororo sped out of nowhere and got Raido and himself out of harm's way, sending them both flying onto the curb.

"Whoa! Nice entrance, Dororo!" Tamama smiled.

"What? What happened?" Keroro asked, still shielding his eyes. Giroro slapped him.

"Open your eyes, fool," he snarled.

"Are you alright, Raido?" Dororo asked. Raido rubbed at a few scrapes on his knees.

"Ow, yeah, I'm fine. Thank you, Dororo, I'm forever in your debt," Raido winced with a slight smile.

"What was that all about?" Keroro asked.

"Yeah, why were you chasing that plane?" Tamama asked. Raido shrugged.

"I'm trying to prove I'm faster," he replied, "Back on Planet Keron there was nothing I knew to be faster than me on wheels. When I first saw that plane when I came to Pekopon, I was convinced I was going to beat it. But I've never been successful. I thought I had it this time… I just got a little careless. I guess I was too focused on the race to realize my life was at risk."

"That's a pretty amazing goal you've set yourself to," Keroro awed, "You may be a live spark of inspiration to the Keroro Platoon! The inspiration to be persistent and to work hard to achieve your goal. That's very admirable."

"Uh… thanks," Raido sweatdropped with a modest smile.

"You know… I've found you quite interesting in the short time we've known each other," Keroro began.

"Love confessions! Kukuku!" Kururu laughed. Giroro kicked him in the shin.

"Shut up, you idiot," he growled.

"Ahem…" Keroro coughed, "Anyway, you seem to be a very capable guy with a lot of potential. Would you be interested in joining the Keroro Platoon?"

"Gack! WHAT?!" Giroro asked.

"Well, we have Natsumi, Fuyuki, and Mois on our Platoon. And he doesn't appear to belong to a Platoon. Why not? So, Raido, what do you say?" Keroro asked. Raido fiddled with the wheels on his skateboard nervously. He seemed surprised by this sudden invitation. He bowed his head apologetically.

"I'm going to have to reject your offer…" he said quietly.

"Gero?!" Keroro asked. He was rather surprised by his response.

"I really appreciate your words of praise and your willingness to accept me as a subordinate, but I honestly wouldn't feel right about joining your Platoon…" Raido said remorsefully.

"What are you saying?" Keroro asked suspiciously.

"I just can't be one of you. There are too many things in my past that keep me against it. I hope you'll understand."

"But I don't!" Keroro said, starting to grow irritated.

"We would if you told us," Tamama said. Raido got quiet. He finally placed his skateboard on the ground, mounted it, and rode back to Masaru's house.

"Wait! Raido, come back!" Dororo called after him.

"Just leave him," Giroro said coldly, "We're better off without him." He turned around and went back inside. Keroro and Kururu followed him, leaving Tamama and Dororo outside. They watched as Raido went out of sight.

"Perhaps there's a better approach to this…?" Tamama asked.

"Possibly," Dororo said quietly, "Though Traumatic childhood is often something others don't like to share with others willingly."

"There might be a way to get him to talk. There has to be some way…" They sat quietly for a few minutes.

"I'll talk to him tomorrow… maybe I can get something," Dororo said finally.


	3. Tadpole of a Tale de arimasu

**A Tadpole of a Tale… de arimasu.**

The next morning, Dororo got up early to wait outside of Masaru's house for Raido. He was prepared to wait a rather long time, but was surprised when he had only waited three minutes. The front door opened and Raido stepped out with his skateboard. He looked around. Dororo kept himself hidden well up in the tree he had been perched on. Oblivious to his presence, Raido got on the skateboard and rode around the driveway for a few minutes. Finally, Dororo jumped down from the tree. Raido, surprised by the sudden appearance, yelped and fell backwards off his skateboard.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I did not mean to frighten you!" Dororo gasped, quickly helping him up. Raido rubbed his backside painfully.

"Nah, it's alright…" he said, cringing in pain.

"What are you doing up so early?"

"I figured I should get some time outside before the Pekoponians got up," Raido said, picking up his skateboard.

"Leader-dono was probably going to do something that involved outdoor activity. Were you going to come?" Dororo asked. Raido shook his head.

"No. I'm reasonably certain I've made them upset with me. It's really not my fault, is it…?" he asked.

"Well, no. Keroro gave you an option. So if you have choices, it's best to make the wisest, which you did. Well, that I'm assuming, yes?"

"I guess so. I do partly have my regrets. I have a great time hanging out with you all. It's been a really long time since I've had any friends to hang with." Bingo.

"Oh, really?" Dororo asked, having a set of questions at the ready, "How long?" Raido hesitated.

"Four years," he answered, suspicious by Dororo's curiosity.

"That really IS a long time. I remember a lot of things about when I was younger. Some things I'd rather forget. I had a rather traumatic childhood."

"You did?" Raido asked.

"Oh yeah. To the point where I formed a trauma switch…" Dororo sighed. He glanced at Raido, "What about you?" Raido blinked.

"Um… I don't THINK I have a trauma switch," he said.

"No, no. I meant a traumatic childhood."

"Oh. Well… not really. My childhood was fine. These past four years have just been rough," Raido replied.

"How so…?" Dororo asked. Raido grew quiet. He looked up at the sky.

"My, what wonderful weather we're having," he said. Dororo looked up at the sky; gray clouds were beginning to crowd together.

"Yes… well… I suppose," he coughed. His chance to draw anything more from Raido past had just expired. "Well… why don't we head over to the Keroro Platoon base?"

"Yeah… alright…" Raido sighed.

The two had a quiet walk to the Hinata residence. Dororo could at least say that he had extracted some information. Once they reached the front yard, Raido went to approach the door, but Dororo grabbed him and dragged him towards the side of the house.

"You can just go through the air vent," he said, "It's early enough that the family here is asleep," he explained.

"Oh… okay, thanks for the tip," Raido said. Dororo went to a small hole on the side of the house and crawled through it. Reluctantly, Raido followed. After awhile he shivered.

"It's really chilly up here…" he said.

"I know right?" Dororo asked. He went to a spot where some light shown through. They could hear some conversations of the Keroro Platoon below. Dororo kicked the vent open and dropped in. Raido tried to drop the same way Dororo had, but he ended up falling in on his face.

"Oh, how very graceful, Kukuku…" Kururu cackled. Raido got up to his feet.

"Yo, guys…" he said quietly. Keroro was the first to reply.

"Well, well, if it isn't 'I'm too cool for the Keroro Platoon!' What are you doing back here?" he asked. Raido frowned.

"For your information, I never said that I was too cool to join your Platoon. I just said that there are things that are keeping from it," he said angrily.

"Whatever, I was just being all nice and letting you have a group you could call your own, but you were all 'No, I don't want to! Cuz you guys aren't capable of invading a planet, and Keroro's stupid, Tamama's crazy, Giroro has issues, Kururu bathes in curry, and that blue guy I can't remember the name of smells weird!'" Keroro mocked.

"What?! I never said any of that! I never said any of you were incapable of invading a planet, I don't think you're stupid, I don't think Tamama's crazy, I don't think Giroro has issues, I had no idea that Kururu bathes in curry, and I don't think that Dororo smells weird. Heck, I don't even know what he smells like!" Raido yelled.

"Yeah, he really never said any of that…" Tamama said, "He was rather nice about it actually." Keroro scoffed.

"If he was nice about it, then he would've joined," he said. Giroro sighed.

"If I were him, I wouldn't have joined," he said, "You kind of ARE stupid."

"Well thank you VERY much, Corporal Giroro!" Keroro yelled.

"He's not the only one who thinks so, Kukuku," Kururu muttered.

"EXCUSE ME, KURURU; I DON'T THINK YOU WERE IN THIS CONVERSATION!" Keroro snapped.

"WOULD YOU GUYS SHUT UP?!" Tamama shrieked, his demon side getting the better of him. The others immediately became alarmed.

"Easy, Tamama…" Giroro said calmly.

"WHY DO YOU THREE HAVE TO FIGHT?! WE'RE ON A TEAM! MAYBE YOU GUYS REALLY ARE STUPID!" Tamama screamed.

"Now, you don't mean that, Tamama, you need to settle down," Keroro said.

"NO, _YOU _NEED TO SETTLE DOWN!"

"Is he alright?!" Raido asked with a bit of concern.

"Yeah, he's got split personalities, we just need to get him to calm down," Keroro said.

"Maybe I can help," Raido said.

"You couldn't, it's hard to get him calm once he's in this kind of fury," Giroro said.

"I have a lot of experience, let me try," Raido insisted.

"Yeah, let him talk to his boyfriend," Kururu snickered.

"SHUT UP, NOBODY LIKES YOU!" Tamama shrieked. Raido quickly went over to him.

"Hey, buddy," he started calmly, "Listen, listen. Do you have anybody that you hate?"

"Yes… THAT WOMAN!" Tamama shrieked, referring to Keroro's niece-figure, Angel Mois.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING, RAIDO?!" Keroro shrieked.

"You may want to go be a bodyguard for Mois…" Dororo said to Giroro.

"Oh, really?" Raido asked Tamama, "That's very interesting. Say, I have a little request to ask of you." Tamama seemed to relax very slightly.

"Go on…" he said.

"Imagine her with a pair of underwear on her head," Raido said.

"What the heck…?" Giroro blinked.

"That's it?!" Keroro asked, seeming very relieved that his "niece" was in no danger.

"Underwear… on her head…?" Tamama asked.

"Yeah, try it," Raido said. Tamama got quiet for a few minutes. Then he relaxed fully and started laughing hysterically.

"How ridiculous!" he laughed. Raido grinned and patted him on the head.

"Wow… that was really weird…" Giroro said.

"Yeah, but… it really worked," Keroro blinked. Tamama was still laughing.

"SHE LOOKS SO WEIRD!" he hooted, falling over on the floor.

"Um… is it really supposed to be that funny?" Dororo asked. Raido shrugged.

"No idea who "THAT WOMAN" is, but I guess it must be hilarious to him," he replied. He looked over at Tamama, who was starting to get over himself.

"You okay there, Eddodo?" he asked.

Tamama looked up at him with confusion. The others looked at him a little weird too.

"My name's… Tamama…" Tamama said. Raido threw his hands over his mouth.

"I'm so sorry!" he gasped, "I knew that! I swear! I'm sorry!"

"Hey, are you okay?!" Keroro asked nervously.

"It's really okay, getting names wrong isn't a big deal!" Tamama insisted.

"No, I don't know why I did that…" Raido murmured, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

"There's no need to get so upset…" Giroro told him. Raido dropped to his knees and held his head as if he had a headache.

"Such a drama queen," Kururu sighed.

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Sensitive," Keroro said irately. Dororo bent down beside Raido.

"Hey… I know it's not our business, but is there a reason you're not telling us about your past?" he asked. Raido didn't do as much as look at him.

"What wonderful weather we're having… wonderful weather…" he said.

"Raido, a thunderstorm just started up five minutes after you got here," Giroro said, "That's not helping you at all."

Tamama took the next approach.

"Masaru was saying that when he first found you, you'd been really depressed. We don't want you to be. Maybe if you told us what was going on, we could help…" he said hopefully. Raido was quiet for a few seconds. He lowered his hands down to his knees.

"You guys really remind me of my old friends…" he said quietly.

"Old friends? What happened to them?" Keroro asked. Raido hesitated to answer. Finally, he stood up. He seemed to be tired of hiding.

"We were all torn apart from each other," he said.

"I had four friends. We had all known each other since we were tadpoles. My first friend was Hikiki. She was really nice and had this strange appeal to her that made her very likeable to everyone. My other three friends and I used to fight over her all the time; she was everyone's favorite. She was a genius too; she was really skilled with the computer.

Then there was my friend Daikiki. While all of my friends agree that he was full of himself, there were times that he could stop thinking about himself and be a true friend to anybody. He was a very nice guy too.

My third friend was Eddodo. A lot of people don't really like him much because… he was crazy. None of us even know what his symbol is because he ripped it off his hat and colors on his stomach. I think the reason I accidentally called Tamama 'Eddodo' was because I spent a few times each day trying to get Eddodo to settle down from one of his outbursts, and when I helped Tamama settle down I think I just associated that with my life four years ago. But he was a good guy, really. He just needed some friends.

Then my more recent friend was Nozizi. Yesterday when you guys said 'nosy' I laughed because it reminded me of him. He was always sticking his nose into other people's business. He was a pretty smart kid though. We always thought he'd be a good private eye.

About four years ago, we were all ready to graduate from military school. Daikiki had been ranked as a Corporal, Hikiki had been ranked as a Sergeant Major, Eddodo was ranked as a Lance Corporal, Nozizi was a First Class Private, and I was ranked as a Wing Commander, since I took so many Air Force classes. All we had to do was form Platoons. My friends all agreed that I would be appointed as the leader. Our schools had a rather different way of forming Platoons. They had each appointed leader pick their members. The day we went to get our Platoons formed, I went to pick my friends as my Platoon.

The new student, Gamama was there to pick his Platoon as well. I don't know why, but he always spited my friends and I. When we got up to pick Platoons, he chose my friends. I couldn't believe it. He hated us all. But he really hated me more than any of them. I didn't really get to say good bye to my friends either. They left with him before I got the chance. There were actually an odd number of teams to pick from. I was shoved into another Platoon of these geeks that all thought I wasn't smart enough to be a leader, and I was stripped of the leader appointment. That on top of being torn from my friends was enough. I just quit my job right then and there.

Five weeks ago, I became bored with Planet Keron and took a cruiser out to space to find something else to do. I was just above Pekopon when another ship shot at me. No matter how many times I dodged it, it kept shooting. I recognized it as a Keronian ship. I sent them a message, telling them to disengage. When it replied, I heard several voices, some were screaming my name. It took me awhile, but I recognized them as my friends'. I tried to hear what they were telling me, but I was so focused on listening to them, that I forgot to dodge and Gamama shot my ship down. Luckily, being a Wing Commander, I knew the safety precautions in landing a crash-landing ship. Unfortunately, I can't say that it prevented any harm. However, it did barely spare my life. When I woke up, I was at Masaru's place. He explained to me that he had taken me in and was willing to keep me safe. I still remember hearing my friends. I can't help but think about them a lot. It makes me upset, but I really can't help it…"

"Oh… wow…" Tamama gasped.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Keroro asked.

"I didn't want you guys to think I was a girl for not letting it go…" Raido admitted.

"Well we wouldn't have. Now we think you're a girl for being a drama queen, Kukuku," Kururu giggled.

"Shut UP," Giroro hissed.

"I just don't normally like talking about it. It brings up the memories I would rather forget," Raido said, "It's not that I don't like my friends… I just wish that we'd never been separated in the first place. Then I would never have been left alone." The others sat quietly. Then Keroro gave Raido a hug.

"You aren't alone. You have friends right here," he said. Raido pulled away from him nervously.

"Okay, that's a little too close for comfort," he said with a disturbed expression. They all laughed.

"Yeah, that was pretty weird," Keroro grinned, "So, you're still gonna hang out with us right?"

"Of course I'm still gonna hang out with you guys, why wouldn't I?" Raido replied.

"Yay!" Tamama grinned.

"We're all a happy family! Aww!" Keroro squeaked.

"And you need to stop talking…" Giroro sweatdropped.


	4. Hikiki, Blast from the Past! de arimasu

**Hikiki, Blast from the Past! …de arimasu.**

It had only been a few weeks since the Keroro Platoon had met Raido. Tamama began to notice that ever since Raido had finally told them about his past, he seemed to become much more comfortable around them and began to show more of his true energetic side. As Keroro put it, they all had become like a family. However, we never expected that the "family" would grow bigger.

The Keroro Platoon base had grown rather quiet that day. Keroro kept himself busy with a magazine, Giroro was polishing his gun again for the umpteenth time, Kururu had plenty of occupations on his laptop, and Tamama munched on a bag of potato chips sleepily. Raido still had yet to stop by. Almost abruptly, the air vent burst open with a loud bang and Dororo dropped in. Everyone yelped and jumped.

"Oh, it's you," Keroro sighed in relief, "You scared us."

"Who else would it have been?" Dororo asked sitting on the floor.

"True…" Keroro said, flipping back to the page in his magazine. As they grew quiet again, there was a very quiet noise like something tapping against metal. Keroro looked up irately at Dororo. "It wasn't funny the first time, what makes you think it's funny now?" he asked. Dororo cocked his head.

"That wasn't me," he said.

They looked over at Giroro. He shook his head. They looked at Kururu, who ignored them, but had been typing the whole time. They glanced at Tamama who was staring up at the ceiling. He could've sworn the noise came from up there. The noise sounded off again. All five were alert and watching the ceiling closely. It went over Giroro's head and he pointed his gun at the ceiling.

"Hold your fire, Giroro," Keroro said quietly. The noise went towards where Dororo had entered before it stopped. They all waited for something to happen. Nothing. Reluctantly, they resumed what they had been doing before the disturbance.

Abruptly, there was a scream and a Keronian fell through the air vent. A laptop fell out behind her and hit her on the head. The Keroro Platoon were on their feet quickly, Giroro and Kururu arming themselves with the same guns they had used against Raido, and Dororo arming himself with his swords. The intruder slowly rose to her feet, holding her head in pain.

"It's so chilly in there…" she muttered under her breath.

"FREEZE!" Giroro yelled. The Keronian shrieked and threw her arms in front of her face to brace herself. She was pink, had a green hat, and had black sparkles on her forehead and stomach. Her eyes were very unusual for the slight glimpse that the Keroro Platoon had gotten; they were all green with white pupils.

"State your purpose for invading the Keroro Platoon base!" Keroro demanded.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know!" the girl insisted.

"A likely story, Kukuku," Kururu cackled.

"Who sent you?" Tamama asked.

"No one, I was just moseying around, I promise! I can leave, I'm really sorry-" the girl started.

"You're not going anywhere, Gerogerogero…" Keroro grinned evilly.

"I suggest you tell the truth, intruder, or face the ultimate penalty," Giroro said, cocking the gun. The girl seemed to become braver.

"I told you, didn't I? It was an accident! Gosh, are all men this dense?!" she snapped.

"Kukuku," Kururu giggled, "And now she gets it…"

"You're lucky my patience isn't thin," Keroro said irritably, "From where do you hail?"

"I'm from Planet Keron just as you are," the girl said.

"Well, there you go, she just a normal Keronian," Tamama said.

"Well, we aren't quick to trust," Keroro said, "I mean, look at her eyes! They don't even look Keronian! Giroro, seize her." Giroro held the girl's hands behind her back. Tamama sweatdropped.

"Not again…" he sighed. They girl was angrier now.

"Oh, again with the eyes! Like I wasn't picked on enough as a kid! Now the harassment starts all over again!" she ranted.

"Kururu, would you like to test the 'Reveal and Expose' gun again?" Keroro asked.

"Kuku, with pleasure," Kururu giggled grabbing out the gun.

"Isn't that a bit extreme?" Tamama asked.

"No, of course not! It's a precaution. Besides, this time we have Dororo with us to… erm… help out with the other half…" Keroro coughed.

"What other half?" Dororo asked nervously.

"Oh, you'll enjoy it," Keroro coughed.

"Please, I'm innocent! I swear!" the girl pleaded.

"Sure, sure, we believe you. Kururu, you have the honors," Keroro said. Kururu aimed the gun at the girl, but at that moment…

"What are you guys doing?" Raido asked, walking in the door.

"Oh, Raido-kun! Lookit, lookit, we caught an intruder for real this time!" Keroro exclaimed, "We're about to test to see if she's-"

"Hikiki?!" Raido gasped as he saw the girl.

"…Keronian…?" Keroro finished. The girl looked at Raido and her green eyes widened.

"Raido…?!" she gasped.

"And… Keroro," Keroro chimed in, "These are my subordinates; Tamama, Kururu, Giroro, and Dororo. Now that we've got the introductions over and done with; WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!"

Hikiki broke away from Giroro's hold and ran to Raido, throwing her arms around him and sobbing.

"RAIDO, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S REALLY YOU! I WAS SO WORRIED! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!" she bawled. Raido blushed and cautiously placed his arms around her comfortingly.

"Uh… you were worried about me…?" he asked.

"We all were…" Hikiki said quietly. Everything went silent except for Hikiki sniffling. Finally, Keroro broke the silence.

"Again; WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!" he shrieked.

"Don't you remember what I told you?" Raido asked, "This is one of my good childhood friends; Hikiki. She was supposed to be in my Platoon with my other friends."

"Ohhhhh yeaaaaaaahh…" Keroro said, "Yeah! Hikiki! The favorite!"

"Keroro!" Raido snapped quietly, blushing furiously, "Drop it…"

"Raido, how did you survive that crash…? We all thought you were done for…" Hikiki sniffled.

"I've gotten better at landing cruisers in these past four years," Raido explained, "I knew a lot of the safety precautions. Plus, I had a Pekoponian take me in to treat my wounds that couldn't have been prevented." They sat quietly for awhile. Raido looked up at the Keroro Platoon, who were becoming slightly concerned.

"We'd like a moment alone, outside…" he said.

"Go ahead," Keroro said. Raido lead Hikiki out the door and closed it behind them. Immediately, Keroro ran to the door and pressed his ear against it.

"Oh, so NOSY!" Giroro sighed. Despite this, he went and pressed his ear against the door too.

"Hypocrite," Kururu sighed, going to the door to listen. Tamama and Dororo shrugged and followed the others. They listened to Raido and Hikiki through the door.

"Has everything been okay?" Raido asked. Hikiki tried to restrain herself from crying but failed miserably.

"No… nothing has ever been okay since you were gone," she wept softly, "We've all been living the past four years in misery."

"Oh… oh really…?" Raido asked. His tone expressed that he had expected something like this.

"Yes… Raido, the others are just a mess. Nozizi has been shoved around for his age and size, Daikiki has picked several fights with the Lt. and has lost each miserably, and… Raido, I'm not sure what's happening to Eddodo. I mean, I know he's always been a little out of it, but ever since you've been gone, he's become like… a monster."

"What about you…?"

"I know I have it easier than them. I'm underestimated because I'm a female, and even though it's very clear that I'm the Sergeant Major, the Lt. has put me in charge of the housewife chores. I am never told to man the computer, it's always Nozizi. As you know, he's smart, just… not in that area."

"Yeah… heh, he does a pretty good job of messing those up, doesn't he…?" Raido chuckled. Hikiki chuckled.

"Yeah, I suppose…" she replied. They were quiet awhile.

"Do you know where they are?" Raido asked.

"No. I left the ship the day you were shot down," Hikiki replied, "When the Lt. didn't listen to us after we told him to stop shooting, we were all furious. I went to strike him, but he hit me first. After that, I knew I had to get out of that Platoon. So I took an escape pod down here to Pekopon, and I've been trying to figure out my next destination for the past couple of weeks. I'm sure the rest of the Platoon is out looking for me…" They were quiet again.

"You could stay here…" Raido said quietly.

"Would your Platoon approve?" Hikiki asked.

"They aren't my Platoon," Raido replied.

"Well no need to rub it in…" Keroro snarled. Giroro slapped his hand over Keroro's mouth.

"Well… okay. If it's alright with everyone else," Hikiki answered.

"Great," Raido said, his tone slightly happier. There was more silence. Finally, Raido spoke again, "It's really good to see you again, Hikiki."

"You have no idea how great is to see you again too," Hikiki replied. There was a shy silence.

"Uh… so I'll go ask the guys if you can stay with us," Raido finished.

"Quick, get back in place!" Giroro whispered to the others. They quickly shuffled back to their original positions. Raido and Hikiki stepped back in the room.

"Hey, Raido!" Keroro called out, "How's everything going? Listen, listen, if you want your girlfriend to stay here with us that would be TOTALLY fine even though we're not your Platoon or anything, but we're like a big ol' whacky happy family, so yeah she can stay. …if that's what you wanted to ask…" Giroro slapped his forehead.

"Moron…" he sighed. Raido and Hikiki sweatdropped.

"You were listening at the door, weren't you?" Raido asked. Keroro made a scoff noise that the guilty accused make.

"Pfft, what?! No! Me? You don't REALLY think I'm THAT nosy do y-"

"Yes." Keroro sighed.

"Alright, fine, so sue me," he said testily.

"But you're sure it's fine if I can stay with you guys?" Hikiki asked.

"Sure, you seem harmless," Keroro shrugged. Hikiki frowned.

"Well, then why was I accused of being a hostile intruder?" she asked.

"What wonderful weather we're having," Keroro said, shoving his nose back behind his magazine. Hikiki walked back over to where she had fallen through the air vent. She looked around the floor with a confused expression on her face.

"Something wrong?" Dororo asked her.

"My laptop… I took it with me. Where'd it go?" Hikiki asked, looking around the room. Tamama coughed and pointed up at Kururu. Hikiki looked up at the Sergeant Major and frowned.

"Thanks," she said, walking up to Kururu. Raido and the others followed her. Kururu had her laptop hooked up to his computer.

"You enjoying what you're looking at?" Hikiki asked testily.

"Kukuku, quite," Kururu snickered, "Although for future references, you shouldn't entitle your personal diary 'Sgt. Major log.' And also, keep your diary as a personal journal, not on your computer where anyone can hack into it and read it." Hikiki's face reddened.

"Well, why are you reading my diary anyway?!" she barked.

"Getting information," Kururu said. Hikiki expressed disturbance.

"Hey, you said that to me too," Raido said.

"Yes and your point?" Kururu asked.

"Well, what do you do with the information?"

"Log it for future references. Ooh… do I spot a love interest in the text here?"

"Kururu!" Keroro snapped, "Give Hikiki back her laptop." Kururu sighed and unhooked her laptop from his computer. Hikiki took it back and frowned.

"If my computer gets a virus…" she started, then holding up a fist, "Then you'll be the first to know." Kururu put his hands up weakly, as if to surrender.

"Hey, I was lucky enough to find a way around that security system of yours," he said. Hikiki wrinkled her nose.

"I guess that deserves a 'thank you'," she hissed, walking away from him. Kururu wrinkled his nose and looked away from her.

"Tch," he snarled, "Ignorant female." Hikiki snapped a glare back at him.

"Dingbat!" she shot.

"I thought you said she had a quality that made her likeable to others…?" Tamama asked Raido. Raido sweatdropped with a smile.

"Well, not everybody gets on her good side," he shrugged.


	5. Kururu VS Hikiki, Battle of the Sgt

**Kururu VS. Hikiki- Battle of the Sergeant Majors… de arimasu.**

The next day as Tamama walked into the Keroro Platoon base, he noticed Raido and Hikiki. They chatted with each other happily. He smiled at his new friends. Keroro walked through the door carrying a box of blank papers.

"Morning, Tamama Nitohei," he greeted, placing the box on the floor.

"Morning, Gunso-san," Tamama chirped. Keroro looked over at Hikiki and Raido.

"They seem to get along well," he commented.

"Well, they were best friends before meeting us. Plus they hadn't seen each other in four years," Tamama pointed out.

"True," Keroro replied, "Hey, grab a pencil; we're going to start on some more invasion plans today."

"Hai, desu," Tamama replied, saluting his leader.

He started to pick up some of the papers from the box before noticing Kururu walk into the room quietly; he held a few sheets of paper and Hikiki's laptop. He walked over to an outlet and went to plug the laptop in.

"Kururu, what are you doing?" Keroro inquired. Kururu made a side to side motion with his hand against his neck to hint to Keroro to shut up. However, it was too late. Hikiki turned around quickly and noticed him.

"Hey! What are you doing?! Put that down!" she yelled, getting up off the floor and running up to Kururu. He gave Keroro an angry glare before placing the laptop on the ground. Hikiki picked it up and looked it over, continuing to lecture Kururu.

"What were you doing with it? Was your look at it yesterday not good enough?!"

"Absolutely nothing of your concern," Kururu replied.

"It IS of my concern! It's my personal laptop! This has my whole life on it!" Hikiki snapped, turning it on to check for viruses or missing documents.

"Yeah, entitled 'Sgt. Major log', Kukuku…" Kururu mumbled. Hikiki's face reddened and she looked back at him nervously.

"You read my diary AGAIN?! What the heck is wrong with you?! Once was bad enough!" she shrieked. Kururu chuckled and straightened up the papers he held.

"I found just what I wanted out of here," he said with a smirk. Hikiki blushed.

"Okay, fine, just put those away… now," she said nervously. Kururu gave her an evil grin. He held the papers up to eye level and cleared his throat.

"To quote: 'Oh, my darling sweet man, I hope that he shall one day return for me and sweep me off my feet. I wish that we could live far away together for eternity. We would raise a family and grow old together. If only my knight in shining armor would return. My love, Ra-'"

"LALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALA!!!" Hikiki shrieked, drowning out Kururu's voice.

"Kururu, why can't you just leave Hikiki's personal life alone? If you want to know so much about her, you could talk to her!" Raido lectured, "Hey, who knows? You two could be best friends!"

"Tch!" Hikiki huffed, "He's not my friend, he's an acquaintance!" Kururu snickered. Tamama noticed that it was a rather different snicker. Almost like it was… honest.

"Something funny, laughing boy?!" Hikiki snapped. Kururu smirked.

"It's humorous that you think that you're equal – or even BETTER – than me. You should know as smart as you claim to be that males and females think very differently," he said. Hikiki exploded.

"EXCUSE ME, MR. SEXIST! BUT ARE YOU TRYING TO IMPLY THAT I'M WORTHLESS BECAUSE I'M A GIRL?!" she hollered.

"That's pretty much what I was getting at, yes," Kururu replied bluntly.

"ALRIGHT, THAT PUTS THE LID RIGHT ON THE CAN!" Raido made a grab for Hikiki and held her back. There was a loud knocking on the door.

"Stupid frogs! Why are you making so much noise?!" yelled a voice behind the door. Keroro panicked.

"Oh no! It's Natsumi-dono!" he gasped. The door bust open and Natsumi stormed in.

"What are you doing in here?!" she barked. She glanced over at Hikiki, "Oh great, another one…" she sighed angrily. Raido sweatdropped.

"I-I… we're sorry, Natsumi-dono," he stammered, "Y-You see, Hikiki was sticking up for herself. A-After all, she's in a room with six guys and at least somebody was going to point it out! Uh… K-Kururu to be exact…" Natsumi glared over at Kururu.

"Since when are you so immature?" she asked.

"Kukuku, the girl is completely inferior," he replied. Hikiki exploded again.

"I'M A SERGEANT MAJOR JUST LIKE YOU ARE, DINGBAT!" she howled.

"What an informal insult."

"DON'T MOCK MY INSULTS, DINGBAT, IT'S MY TRADEMARK!"

"Alright! Alright! Kururu, stop making her angry!" Natsumi barked. Raido hid behind Tamama and Keroro. Natsumi ran her hand through her pink hair and sighed.

"If you really want to see who's better, why don't you just have some sort of contest? You can both see who's better at hacking a computer or something," she said.

"What a genius plan, Natsumi!" Giroro smiled, blushing a bit.

"Indeed… it is a better way to show the female the power of the male brain," Kururu said.

"Yeah, which is as much as spool of thread," Hikiki huffed, then turning around to face the other three quickly, "Excluding you five, of course!"

"I wouldn't be so quick to say that," Natsumi said, "Now, I'm going to go back upstairs; I don't want to hear anymore from you guys, clear?"

"Hai, Natsumi-dono!" Keroro said, saluting her. Raido came out from behind him and saluted her, standing unnaturally stiff – even for a salute.

Natsumi turned on her heel and left the room. Raido finally relaxed and sighed a sigh of relief. Kururu and Hikiki both snapped frightening glares at each other.

"Let this be a lesson to you, Sergeant Major Dingbat," Hikiki snarled, "I'll show you exactly what I'm capable of."

"Same to you," Kururu snorted. They glared at each other fiercer before looking away, turning on their heels and walking away.

"Jeez, this looks serious," Keroro muttered.

"Maybe we should help out!" Dororo suggested.

"That's a stupid idea," Keroro snorted. He sat thoughtfully, "Wait! What if WE helped out?!" Dororo stared at him with an offended look.

"But… that's what I just said…" he muttered.

"That's what she said," Keroro sighed, "Hey, Kururu, Hikiki." The two looked over at him, "Okay, why don't we all help you both out with this contest thing? Tamama, Dororo and I can be the judges and Raido can be the referee!"

"Wait, what about me? What do I do?" Giroro asked.

"You and Mois can be the cheerleaders," Keroro grinned. Giroro's jaw dropped.

"NO WAY IN HECK!" he yelled.

"Kukuku, I'd like to see that!" Kururu grinned.

"Of course you would," Hikiki sighed.

"Mumbler."

"Shut up, dingbat!"

"Eh, perhaps we should get this started now?" Tamama sweatdropped.

Tamama gazed over at Kururu and Hikiki sitting in front of their laptops from the judges' table. Raido stood between them.

"Alright, the battle between Sergeant Majors Hikiki and Dingbat-" he started.

"Wait; NOW YOU'RE STARTING UP?!" Kururu barked. Raido and Hikiki fell into a fit of laughter.

"Hikiki bribed me to say it! I had to!" Raido hooted. Hikiki high-fived Raido and they released the last few giggles before continuing.

"Ahem, anyway," Raido snickered, "The battle between Sergeant Majors Hikiki and Kururu is about to get underway. The rules are as stated. You must both hack into the target computers that Keroro has set. Whoever hacks into the computer first will win the round. Best of Three wins the title as the best Sgt. Major. And if you're both ready… BEGIN!"

Kururu and Hikiki typed rapidly at their computers. In no more than six seconds, Hikiki spun around in her chair to face the judges.

"Done," she said simply.

"DONE?!" the entire Keroro Platoon gasped. Raido seemed impressed, but not surprised. Tamama left the judges' table with Dororo and Keroro. He checked the card in his hand and then at the computer. He listened to Hikiki and Kururu talk as checked.

"No… there's no way you got that… no one can hack a computer like that…" Kururu stammered.

"Well, it was disastrous…" Hikiki admitted. Tamama looked back and forth between the card and the computer; everything was correct.

"I can normally hack computers with security systems like that… MUCH faster," Hikiki smirked. Kururu sweatdropped; it was apparent that he now realized what he had put himself up against.

"Well! Congrats, Hikiki!" Keroro smiled, "Looks like you've won the first round!" Hikiki smiled proudly.

"Thank you, Keroro," she said politely. As she got back in front of her computer, the bedroom door opened. A blond haired girl in a cheerleader uniform skipped in with Giroro.

"Are we late?" she chirped.

"A little, you missed the first round, Mois-dono," Keroro said. Mois became apologetic.

"Gomen, Ochi-sama," she apologized, "I'll try to be on time next time! You could say, perfect attendance?" Tamama felt his blood boil as he stared at the girl. Raido walked up and whispered in his ear, "So, is that 'THAT WOMAN'?"

"Hai," Tamama hissed. Raido frowned.

"I see why you don't like her. Augh, what an annoying creature…" Mois looked over at Raido and squealed.

"Ohhh! Is this the new friend of Uncle?! What an adorable little one!" she smiled, picking up Raido and giving him a hug. Hikiki looked angry at this act.

"AAH! PUT ME DOWN! LADY, I DO NOT LIKE TO BE LADY-HANDLED, PUT ME DOWN NOW!" Raido shrieked.

"Oh, Mois is just showing her affection, Raido," Keroro smiled.

"I DON'T CARE! JUST PUT ME DOWN, FOOL!" Raido snarled.

"Can we just get this over with?!" Giroro barked irately, holding twin pom-poms.

"Okay, okay, let's start," Keroro said. Mois placed Raido back on the floor and patted his head.

"You could say, cute friend of Uncle?" she cooed. As soon as she walked away, Raido straightened his hat irritably and muttered under his breath, "You could say, figure out some personal space bubbles, annoying little girl, and don't touch my hat, fool." Tamama couldn't help but giggle.

"Alright," Raido said irritably, "Are you both ready?"

"Ready when you are, Raido-kun," Hikiki smiled, with a wink. Raido blushed. Kururu sat quietly before saying,

"No." He got up and went to Mois. The others stared at them curiously. He whispered something in her ear. He handed her something. Mois looked over at him and nodded with a smile.

"Okay, now I'm ready," Kururu said, sitting back down.

"What was that all about?" Hikiki asked. Kururu didn't answer.

"Okay, guys. Ready…?" Raido called, "GO!"

"Oh! I'm sorry! You're just so cute!" Mois squealed abruptly, running back to Raido and picking him up again to hug him.

"DUDE! WHAT DID I JUST SAY EARLIER ABOUT BEING LADY-HANDLED?!" Raido howled.

"RESTRAIN YOURSELF, WOMAN!" Tamama shrieked. Hikiki typed a bit slower than Kururu; she was distracted. Tamama noticed this. Kururu stopped typing a moment and glanced at Hikiki. She kept looking up from the monitor and at Mois and Raido.

"Done," Kururu announced. Hikiki let out a groan of fury and slammed her head into her keyboard.

"OBJECTION!" Tamama howled.

"I'LL SAY! PUT ME DOWN, FOOL!" Raido screamed.

"This isn't court, but okay, what's the penalty?" Dororo asked.

"Kururu bribed that woman to distract Hikiki!" Tamama said.

"Tama-chan, Kururu told me to give Raido-kun a hug, and if I did, I'd get a few yen," Mois explained. Tamama stared at her with an exasperated stare.

"Yeah, cuz that just made you sound intelligent," he said sarcastically.

"In other words, he was bribing you, dingbat," Hikiki barked.

"Well, he still hacked the computer," Keroro sweatdropped.

"Because he cheated!" Hikiki protested.

"Yes… but we never said you couldn't," Keroro shrugged.

"That's not fair!"

"You're taking this so childishly. It's like watching a tadpole complain after fairly losing in a game of Candy Land," Kururu sighed. Hikiki frowned and crossed her arms.

"Augh, fine, be unjust, whatever," she hissed. Raido placed his hand on her shoulder and stroked it gently with his thumb.

"It's okay, Hiki-chan. You'll win this over; I believe in you," he said with a sweet smile. Hikiki blushed a deep red.

"Raido…" she cooed, ducking her head and looking away from him nervously.

"Okay, quit being special and start the final round," Keroro mumbled. Raido blushed and took his hand away from Hikiki's shoulder. He stood back between Hikiki and Kururu and cleared his throat.

"Ehm… the third round is about to commence. This will be considered Sudden Death. Uh… you may begin," he said nervously.

"Well, he said it better the first time…" Keroro sighed.

Tamama watched Hikiki and Kururu type as if their lives depended on it. At last, Hikiki turned around in her chair quickly.

"I'M DONE!" she announced loudly, trembling slightly. Kururu growled loudly and pounded his fist into the desk.

"Okay, okay, it's just a contest; no pressure," Keroro sweatdropped, getting up from the table. Giroro rolled his eyes.

"Contests are supposed to involve pressure, moron," he said.

"MUMBLER!" Keroro exclaimed.

Tamama got up with Dororo and they went to check the computer screen. He checked his card and the computer screen. It was all correct. He felt horrible to have to admit that his own Sergeant Major had lost. Finally, Keroro turned around to face them both. He seemed to be repentant to inform Kururu as well.

"Well… it seems that…" he broke off, glancing at Kururu, "Hikiki has won." Kururu seemed to freeze, like his heart had suddenly stopped. Hikiki and Raido cheered. Hikiki ran to Raido and gave him a hug and a kiss on both of his cheeks.

"Raido, I won!" she grinned. Raido blushed intensely, a big smile on his face.

"Y-Yeah! You did great, Hiki-chan! I'm really proud!" he stammered. Hikiki took her turn to blush.

"Wow, what an intense moment we've had with the contest and the drama and such," Keroro sighed.

"It's not over yet…" Dororo said quietly, motioning towards Kururu. Tamama looked over at his own Platoon's Sergeant Major. He sat with both hands supporting him against the desk. He stared off into space. A depressing aura seemed to shroud him.

Hikiki skipped over to him with a sweet smile on her face. Tamama began to worry that she was going to rub the victory in his face. But she did exactly the opposite.

"Hey, great job, Kururu," she smiled, "You were really good!" Kururu glanced up at her angrily. For a split second, Tamama thought he was going to attack her. However, he slammed his laptop shut, picked it up and left the room.

"Whoa, that really put him in his place…" Giroro blinked. Hikiki stepped back a bit and wrung her hands.

"I… I didn't mean to get him so upset…" she stammered, "I just… I thought that's why…?"

"No, no, it's not your fault, Hiki-chan," Raido assured her.

"Kururu's just sulking, he's a sore loser," Giroro said bluntly. Hikiki wasn't feeling any better.

"I'm so sorry… I… I don't mean to be such an awful person…" she said, growing upset. Tamama cocked his head.

"Hikiki-senpai, I thought you wanted to put him in his place; to prove that girls could be just as smart as boys…?" he asked.

"Well… yes… but I didn't want anyone to be upset! I know how it feels to feel worthless!" Hikiki cried, a small tear falling down her face. Raido quickly went to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Kururu shouldn't feel worthless…" Keroro said, "I mean, at least he can still HACK a computer! Just not as fast! And I mean, heck, he can invent things that I couldn't even imagine in existence!"

"Wait! What was that you just said?" Hikiki asked, looking up quickly.

"He… can invent things-?" Keroro started.

"Great! Thanks, Keroro! Tamama, c'mon, I need your help," Hikiki said, going out the door. Tamama was surprised to have been called upon. Reluctantly, he followed Hikiki out of the room.

"Hiki-chan? What are you doing? Where are we going?" he asked.

"I'm not really sure," she replied, "Any idea where Kururu might've gone?" Tamama didn't have to ponder much.

"His lab, but why? What are you planning?" he asked.

"Keroro said he could invent," Hikiki replied, "Maybe I can talk him into another contest…" Tamama blinked.

"An inventing contest…?" he asked.

"Yeah… so where is his lab?" Hikiki asked.

"Uh, I'll take you there," Tamama said.

The two walked quietly to Kururu's lab. Tamama couldn't believe Hikiki wanted to challenge Kururu to something else. Finally, they reached the lab.

"Kururu-senpai, it's Tamama," he called up, "Hikiki wants to talk to you."

"Does she?" Kururu replied through the intercom. His voice sounded irate, "Well, I'm rather busy at the moment. I don't think I have time to negotiate."

"But, Kurur-" Tamama protested.

"Good-bye, Tamama!" Kururu snapped. Tamama sighed.

"Alright, let's go," he said quietly. Hikiki wasn't ready to give up.

"Kururu, please! I really need to speak with you!" she called up. There was no reply. Hikiki cleared her throat nervously, "Please. I want to ask you something…" There was a small silence. Hikiki stood patiently. Finally, the door to the lab opened and Kururu stepped out. He walked up to her sullenly. Tamama felt his jaw drop. Kururu wasn't usually convinced that easily.

"You have thirty seconds," he said irritably. Hikiki put on a small smile.

"Hey, look, about the contest…" she started, "I was wondering if you wanted to have a different one." Kururu raised an eyebrow.

"Go on…" he said quietly. Hikiki sweatdropped a bit.

"Uh… an… an inventing contest…?" she asked. Kururu seemed to get angry.

"What, so you can pulverize me there too?! Not a chance!" he snarled.

"No! That's not what I meant!" Hikiki insisted, "I just... I heard some nice things about your inventions… I thought maybe… we could try… er… comparing skills…" Hikiki very faintly began to perspire. Tamama recognized this as a sign of deceit. Kururu relaxed a bit.

"Oh…" he said calmly, "I suppose… I suppose that seems harmless enough…" Hikiki smiled slightly. Kururu put on a light frown.

"You're lying," he said. Hikiki sweatdropped. Kururu bowed his head slightly, "I don't know exactly what you have in mind… but I will make sure that I get even with you."

"Eh, alright, you do that!" Hikiki smiled. Kururu glared at her a bit, before walking back towards the base.

Hikiki sighed nervously and twiddled her fingers. Tamama stared at her.

"Hiki-chan…" he said quietly, "What did you lie to him about?" Hikiki turned around slowly. Her cheeks reddened slightly.

"W-What wonderful weather we're having…" she said with a grin. Tamama chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"Alright, alright, don't tell me!" he laughed, "C'mon, let's get back to the base."

As they came back to the room, Keroro had already gotten the room set up for an inventing contest.

"Wow that was fast." Tamama commented.

"Keroro can sure get things done fast when he's excited," Giroro said, then frowning, "If he'd only use that to come up with some invasion plans!"

"Aha ha," Keroro sweatdropped with a grin.

"Are you ready?" Kururu asked Hikiki. She nodded and sat next to him at the desk. Instead of laptops, they sat in front of an assortment of items. Hikiki looked at them with a confused expression. Tamama cocked his head.

"Something wrong, Hiki-chan?" he asked. Hikiki's cheeks reddened again.

"Er… no! I-I'm ready to go!" she said quickly. Raido stood between the two.

"Okay, the Inventing Contest between Sgt. Majors Hikiki and Kururu is about to get underway, you will have five minutes to invent a particular invention from the selection of items. The Best of Three wins," he announced. He grew quiet and placed a hand on Hikiki's shoulder, "Good luck…" he whispered to her, then announcing, "Begin!"

Kururu immediately began building. Hikiki stared at the items awhile. Finally, she picked up two and tried to place them together. It didn't work. Meanwhile, Kururu turned around in his chair and held up the finished invention.

"Done," he announced. Keroro smiled and nodded.

"Looks right," he replied, "Try it out." Kururu pressed a button on the side of it and it played a small fanfare.

"WOOHOO! Way to go, Kururu!" Keroro grinned. Kururu smiled a proud smile and turned around towards the desk. He looked over at Hikiki, probably to start gloating, but instead stared at her trying to mesh the two items together.

"What… are you doing…?" he asked. Her face reddened.

"What wonderful weather we're having…?" she smiled. Kururu seemed to roll his eyes.

"You and your friend both…!" he sighed. Raido chuckled.

"Alright, next set of items please," he called. Dororo came in with two boxes. He set one in front of Hikiki and one front of Kururu. He opened them up and placed the items in front of the two. Hikiki looked like she was going to throw up as she gazed at the variety.

"Alright, are you both ready?" Raido asked. They nodded. "Begin!" Kururu immediately went into building. Hikiki spent the whole time trying to decide where to start. As she picked up an item, Kururu turned around with the finished result.

"Done," he announced. Keroro nodded.

"Yup, try it," he said. Kururu pulled a small lever on the top, a few streamers popped out.

"Wow… that was cute," Giroro sweatdropped. Keroro sweatdropped.

"Hey, I just looked these up on the Internet," he replied.

"On what, the Inventions for Preschoolers site?" Kururu asked, "These were hardly a challenge." Hikiki dropped the item that she had picked up. They all looked over at her.

"…preschoolers…?" she repeated. They all stared at her. She quietly got out of her chair and turned towards Kururu.

"Hey…" she said quietly, "You did truly amazing. I guess… I guess you proved me wrong… you really are smarter than me… heh, go figure." Kururu stared at her. As Hikiki looked back at him, a few small tears rose in her eyes, "The truth is… I challenged you knowing that I have no inventing skills… it's always been something I've tried to figure out, but… I must not be smart enough. I've always… been embarrassed to admit that. The fact that you can still hack a computer… AND invent circles around someone… I guess that makes you phenomenal, huh…? …I just want you to know that if anyone here is worthless… it's me." She turned around and began to walk out of the base.

"Hiki-chan…?" Raido blinked. Tamama finally realized what Hikiki had lied about. She wasn't challenging to compare skills, she was challenging to show Kururu that he wasn't worthless; she wouldn't tell Tamama that because she was embarrassed. He began to feel horrible.

"Hikiki, wait," Kururu said abruptly. She stopped and turned back towards him. Kururu got out of his chair and went to her.

"Maybe there's a way we can… um… make a deal…" he said. Hikiki stared at him. Kururu sighed, "You... you ARE smart enough to invent. You just haven't had the right teacher… so, uh… I'll be willing to show you how… if you show me how to hack faster."

"Kururu…?" Keroro gaped. Hikiki and Kururu gazed at each other awhile. Finally, Hikiki smiled.

"That would be great," she replied, "It's a deal." She held out her hand. Kururu looked at it a moment before shaking it slightly. Hikiki seemed to try and pull away her hand but Kururu didn't let go. He stared at her blankly. Hikiki sweatdropped.

"Um… you can let go now…" she murmured. Kururu seemed to snap out of it and he let her hand go, blushing.

"Aw, now that's what I like to see; two individuals getting along!" Keroro smiled. Raido went to Hikiki and gave her a friend-hug.

"I told you guys that she has a quality that makes her likeable to others," he smiled. Hikiki blushed and gave him a hug, grinning. Over his shoulder, while the others talked, she noticed Kururu stare at Raido as he held her in his arms. He had an almost envious gaze. He merely glanced towards her, meeting her eyes. He immediately looked at the floor; his cheeks almost as pink as Hikiki herself. It was then that Hikiki began to see what Kururu REALLY thought of her.


	6. Keroro Platoon, Battle With Friends

**Keroro Gunso**

**The Keroro Platoon – Battle with "Friends" …de arimasu.**

As Tamama reached the front yard of the Hinata's house, he noticed Hikiki stretched out on the lawn, gazing up at the sky. He walked over to her.

"Hey, Hikiki," he said. She glanced over at him.

"Oh, hey, Tamama," she said quietly. She continued to gaze at the sky. Tamama looked up; there weren't even any clouds to be watching. Nothing but vast, empty blueness. She couldn't be actually looking at anything.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked.

"Nothing…" He gave her a weird look and sat on the grass next to her.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked curiously.

"Meh…" Hikiki shrugged.

"Is that all…?" Tamama asked. Hikiki chuckled.

"You're so much like Nozizi," she laughed.

"I'm just being concerned," Tamama said innocently. Hikiki sighed and sat up.

"I just wonder where they are…" she said quietly, "I know that they're probably out looking for me. I just… I can't go back with them." Tamama realized that she was referring to her Platoon. He tried to imagine the situation as his own. What if Garuru had taken him, Giroro, Kururu, and Dororo away from Keroro? Then if he left to find Keroro and leave behind the rest of his friends with no way of knowing if they were okay. He couldn't help but feel that he would miss them as well.

"It's better to assume nothing, isn't it?" he asked. Hikiki was quiet for a moment.

"I guess so," she replied. She wavered her feet for a brief minute before getting up, "You wanna go inside? Everyone is here."

"Okay," Tamama said, getting up.

As they got into the base there was a lot of angry yelling. It was a great surprise to them.

"I DON'T UNDERSTAND, WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE LOST ALL OF OUR IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS?!" Keroro screamed.

"What DON'T you understand?! The documents on the computer are all missing. There isn't anything else to it!" Kururu sighed irately.

"Perhaps someone hacked into the computer and stole the documents. Like Tororo!" Giroro suggested, "We all know how that little brat does anything he can to outsmart you!"

"True, but you don't think he would just try to figure out how to create better documents himself?" Dororo said.

"Maybe Hikiki did it. We saw her hack into a computer before you could finish saying her name," Keroro suggested.

"WHAT?!" Hikiki shrieked. The others looked over suddenly.

"Oh, hello, I didn't see you there," Keroro said nervously. Raido was also present with the group; he seemed angry.

"Hikiki wouldn't do something like that!" he snarled defensively, "Not to you guys!"

"Yeah, why would you think I would randomly hack into your computer? Just to humor myself?!" Hikiki asked irately, walking closer to them.

"Probably," Kururu muttered.

"Shut up, dingbat!" Hikiki snapped.

"Well you could've come as a spy for your Platoon and we wouldn't even know because you're good at keeping secrets," Keroro said. Hikiki glared at him.

"Sounds like you took a lot of time to think that over," she hissed quietly.

"Is that a yes?" Keroro asked.

"NO! I DIDN'T HACK INTO YOUR STUPID COMPUTER!" Hikiki yelled.

"Kururu, was there anything left behind? Like a symbol? Or a note?" Raido asked.

"There was a fax," Kururu said. The others looked abruptly at him.

"There… was a fax… that you never mentioned until now…?" Giroro asked.

"I'm just irritating like that, Kukuku," Kururu snickered. Hikiki slapped him over the head.

"Yeah, ya got that right, dingbat!" she snarled. Tamama stepped over to the fax machine and pulled out a paper. He gazed at it curiously. There were several numbers; all of them were set up to make the shape of a black lightning bolt. He handed it over to Keroro. Keroro looked it over and then glanced up at Raido, eyeing his symbol on his stomach and forehead; a lightning bolt.

"Explain this…" he said, handing Raido the paper. Raido looked at it for awhile. Then he handed the paper back.

"It looks like a black lightning bolt," he said. Keroro raised an eyebrow. Raido's jaw dropped, "What?! YOU'RE ACCUSING _ME_ NOW?!"

"Well, it does look suspicious, both of you could be at fault here," Keroro said.

"Now hold on a second!" Tamama interrupted, "Isn't it true that you were accused for the same reason not so long ago?! Because the Garuru Platoon just so happened to display a star?!" Keroro got nervous.

"Oh, come on! I almost made a good point!" he whined.

"You weren't even close. We just have to figure out who did this," Raido sighed.

"I dunno…" Keroro sighed, "I'm still convinced it was you." Raido frowned.

"Please, it's impossible," Kururu said. Raido smiled a very small smile of flattery.

"Thanks, Kururu," he said.

"There's nothing special about him," Kururu continued. Raido's smile turned into an exasperated stare. "Think about it, there's nothing special about him. He doesn't have any useful talents, he doesn't know ANYTHING about Platoons, he doesn't want to invade Pekopon, heck, he doesn't even have a deathblow! He doesn't do anything out of the ordinary. Do you, Raidodo?"

Raido's face reddened abruptly and he sweatdropped nervously.

"What did you just call me…?!" he asked, angry and terrified at the same time.

"You heard me, Raidodo. You don't like that name since it involves 'dodo' so you just go by the shortened version." Keroro snickered.

"Well… there's nothing funny about it…" he giggled. Raido rolled his eyes.

"How did you even figure it out?" he sighed. Kururu snickered and pulled out the stack of paper which was revealed as Hikiki's diary.

"While we're getting off topic, I'd be more than happy to tell you! See, while I was reading over Hiki-chan's diary, I learned quite a few things about you and your friends. For instance, you and Hikiki were often accused of having feelings for each other…" He snapped a threatening glare at Raido. "So… do you have any amorous feelings for her…?" Raido blushed and looked down at the floor nervously.

"Um… what uh… what wonderful weather we're having…" he replied, fiddling with his fingers. Kururu frowned slightly and looked over at Hikiki.

"How about you? Do you uh… have any feelings for your childhood friend? …er, at the moment if you will…" Hikiki didn't reply. She sat very quietly. Kururu seemed to become a bit uneasy.

"H-Hiki-chan…?" he stammered. She gazed at the fax in Keroro's hand. She took it from him and stared at it.

"That's…" she whispered.

"What? What is it?" Keroro asked.

"That's my Platoon's symbol…" Hikiki said quietly.

"So you DID do it!!" Keroro announced, pointing at her accusingly.

"I did NOT do it," she said agitatedly, "But the question is, who did?"

"What do you mean 'who did'? We just figured it out didn't we?" Raido asked.

"Well, sort of. But I was the computer genius on my Platoon. And – let's face it – the men on the Gamama Platoon have brains the size of postage stamps when it comes to computers. There's no WAY they could've hacked a computer like Kururu's," Hikiki explained.

"Maybe so, but what if one of them figured it out? Or if they remembered something you did?" Raido asked.

"Or if they knew all along and refused to actually pull it off as long as you were on the Platoon," Dororo piped up. Hikiki sat quietly.

"I suppose that's possible. My friends have all been very loyal to me. I guess that once I left, they felt that they had to listen to Gamama," she said.

There was a loud crash outside. The group all ran to the large computer monitor's surveillance camera and saw a large ship outside. It emitted black smoke.

"Nice parking, people…" Keroro sighed, rolling his eyes. Tamama looked over at Hikiki, whose face expressed horror.

"Hikiki… what is it?" he asked.

"It's them…" she said quietly.

"What?!" Raido gasped. The door to the ship opened and a dark grey frog with a cape stepped out with a gun. Raido frowned and gritted his teeth.

"Gamama…" he snarled.

"Ah, speak of the devil," Keroro commented. The dark grey frog looked around, inspecting the area. He took the cape and covered his nose and mouth, shooting the gun in the air. The gun released a pink fog that spread as far as the eye could see. It began to seep through the air vents.

"Hey! That's my invention!" Kururu snarled.

"AAH! That's right! Quick, cover your mouth and nose!" Keroro exclaimed. All seven quickly grabbed their hats and threw them over their mouths and noses. As the pink fog disappeared, they donned them again and looked back at the monitor. Suddenly the bedroom door burst open and Natsumi stormed in.

"Stupid frogs! What are you doing this time?! Everyone outside is knocked out!" she yelled.

"N-Natsumi!" Giroro choked, blushing furiously. Raido hid behind Tamama and Dororo.

"We didn't do anything! We swear!" Keroro cried, "It's not us! See?" He pointed at the computer screen. Natsumi looked over at the screen and eyed the frog.

"Well what's HE doing here then?!" she demanded.

"I'm sorry! This is my fault!" Hikiki apologized, "I'll make him leave! No matter what it means!"

"No, Hikiki!" Raido gasped. Hikiki sighed.

"I'm sorry…" she said quietly. She took off towards the door.

"NO! DON'T!" Raido screamed, chasing after her.

"Wait! It's too dangerous!" Giroro called after them. They didn't come back.

"We can't let them go!" Tamama said, "They could get killed!"

"Well, they're part of our Platoon-" Keroro began.

"They are NOT part of the Platoon and they'll tell you that!" Giroro snapped.

"Shut up, you. They're in a way part of our Platoon and we won't let them get in harm's way! De arimasu!" Keroro finished and tore off after Raido and Hikiki.

"ARGH! FOOL!" Giroro snarled, running after him. Natsumi started to go after him but he stopped her, "No, Natsumi. I don't want you in harm's way either."

"Oh… okay…" Natsumi said quietly. Tamama, Dororo, and Kururu ran outside after the others.

Once they reached the front yard, they came in on a rather interesting conversation.

"Ah, the red one returns from the dead. I suppose that the documents didn't lie after all," Gamama said.

"Not at all," Raido snarled, "I'm one hundred percent alive. Which I can't say the same for you when I get through with you."

"Kururu… how did he know Raido was alive from the documents…?" Keroro asked.

"I include the names for positions in the plans. It's what anyone organized would do," Kururu replied.

"I see that you've done me the favor of retrieving my Sergeant Major," Gamama replied. He sat quietly, gazing at Hikiki for a moment.

"I may be willing to spare your life if you hand her back," he said, "After all, if you never see her again I suppose you couldn't do too much harm." Raido stepped in front of his friend.

"I wouldn't let you touch Hikiki with one of your grimy claws if it was the last thing I'd do!" he yelled. Gamama stared at him angrily.

"Tch," he hissed, "Pathetic way to die." He cocked his gun and began to point it at Raido.

"NO WAY IN HECK!" Tamama shrieked, going into his demon side. He plowed over to Gamama in rage.

"NO! TAMAMA!" Keroro screamed.

"TAMAMA IMPACT!" Tamama yelled, storing a large ball of energy to release at Gamama. Gamama looked over at him and snapped his fingers. As Tamama sped past the ship, a white blur flew out and tackled him over. He screamed as he was pinned roughly, face flat against the Earth.

"GUNSO-SAN! HELP ME!!" he shrieked. Raido became frantic.

"Tamama!" he gasped.

"So this is your backup?" Gamama asked, "How weak." He looked back at Raido, "Oh, I do believe you've met my Lance Corporal? …Eddodo?" Raido's eyes widened. Tamama looked up at the blur that had attacked him. A white frog with rather crazed eyes and a frightening grin stared at him with an almost bloodthirsty gaze. He had a hole on his hat where his symbol was supposed to be and purple marker, crayon, and paint splattered across his stomach. He stood with one foot toughly on Tamama's back.

"GET THE #?!$ AWAY FROM TAMAMA!" Giroro shrieked firing a warning shot at the frog with his gun. The bullet grazed the side of his hat. He backed off and snarled at Giroro like a rabid animal. Raido gazed at him with horror.

"Eddodo…" he said quietly. He snapped a furious stare at Gamama, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?!?"

"All I have to say is that this is one of the finer subordinates on my Platoon," Gamama said.

"YOU MEAN _MY_ PLATOON! THE ONE YOU STOLE AWAY FROM ME!" Raido shrieked. Gamama snapped his fingers again and Eddodo snapped a frightening glare at Raido.

"Do not test my patience," Gamama said, "I would rather kill you myself, as it would be much quicker and far less painful than if I had Eddodo do the dirty work for me."

"Eddodo wouldn't attack me if you asked him to," Raido said. Gamama glanced at Eddodo and nodded. Eddodo threw himself at Raido, tackling him over.

"ALRIGHT, IT STOPS HERE!" Keroro screamed. He and the rest of the Platoon ran towards them, ready to attack. Two other Keronians leapt from the broken down ship and got in front; one armed with a gun. One was a short, light blue tadpole with large black glasses and the symbol of an eye upon his stomach and forehead. The other was a bit older than Keroro and was goldenrod with the symbol of a mirror on his stomach and forehead, much like one of the symbols on the Kero Ball. He was armed.

"You won't be going any further," the goldenrod one said.

"Yeah?! Says who?!" Giroro snapped.

"Says me! Corporal Daikiki!" the goldenrod frog snapped.

"And First Class Private Nozizi!" the tadpole added.

Meanwhile, Raido had managed to kick Eddodo off. Eddodo got up angrily off the ground. Hikiki stood between the two.

"Eddodo, it's Raido," she said calmly, "Your friend. Don't you remember?" Eddodo struggled to speak a few words.

"Raido dead," he snarled, and then giving her a cold stare, "Pretty girl left us. Why pretty girl abandon Eddodo?" Hikiki gazed at him with pure guilt.

"Eddodo… I'm sorry. I had to…" she said quietly. She placed her hand on his shoulder, but he jerked away. He looked away from her.

"Pretty girl dead to Eddodo," he said coldly. Hikiki released a few silent tears. Raido slowly managed to get to his feet.

"Guys… what's happened to you…?" he asked. Daikiki and Nozizi turned around and looked at him.

"You look vaguely familiar," Daikiki said, directing his gun at Raido.

"Guys! It's me! Don't you remember?" Raido insisted. Nozizi stepped closer to him.

"What's to remember?" he said.

"Nozizi…" Raido stammered.

"What's the deal? Why don't they recognize him?" Giroro asked.

"It's possible they've been brainwashed," Kururu said, "Hikiki always rambles on about how the Platoon was always a lost cause without her services. It may be that when she left they fell more vulnerable to Gamama's power."

"Jeez, that's weak," Tamama growled, finally managing to get to his feet. Daikiki zipped around.

"WHAT?!" he snarled. He jabbed the gun at Tamama's stomach, "The Gamama Platoon is five hundred times stronger than yours will EVER be!" Keroro shoved the gun away from Tamama's gut.

"Shut up!" he barked.

"No, YOU shut up!" Daikiki snapped, "You have no business messing with us anyway. It's not your problem!"

"Raido's problems are OUR problems. What's ours is yours!" Keroro snapped back. Daikiki loosened up and sweatdropped.

"Wait… that didn't make sense," he said.

"It makes PLENTY of sense if you think really really hard about it!" Hikiki argued. Daikiki whirled back around.

"And YOU abandoned us! Why the heck would you do that?! We were all in a mess after you left!" he yelled.

"You're IN a mess! You've always BEEN in a mess, you idiot! Why don't you understand that?!" she yelled back.

"Hold your tongue!" Gamama snapped, pointing the gun at Hikiki. Raido hurled himself at Gamama and tackled him over.

"DON'T YOU HURT HER!" he shrieked. Gamama threw a punch at him and sent him flying off to the side. Hikiki immediately went to aid him, but Eddodo grabbed her by the arm and threw her to the ground swiftly. Angrily, Raido jumped to his feet and went to attack Eddodo. And as an odd twist, Kururu ALSO went to attack Eddodo.

Raido went to throw a fist at Eddodo, but Eddodo grabbed him by the arm and flung him into Kururu, knocking them both over.

"Hey, hey, get off me, fatty!" Kururu snapped, pushing him off.

"Shut up, now's not the time!" Raido snapped, getting to his feet. Kururu nodded merely, and took off towards the house. Giroro cocked his gun and aimed it directly at Gamama, while he was getting up. Nozizi noticed this and punched the gun out of Giroro's hands.

"Nice try, moron!" he snapped. Giroro snapped.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" he snarled. Nozizi laughed tauntingly and started to run off. He ran out in front of his ship and suddenly stopped as he stepped on the sidewalk in front of it. He started tugging at his feet, as if they were stuck to the sidewalk. He began to grow frantic.

"Nozizi, we told you to put flour on your feet and hands! You know how it's hard to work with your "Sticky hand/foot" condition!" Daikiki snapped.

"Forget him, he can't do anything now," Gamama said coldly. Nozizi began crying helplessly. Raido gaped as he watched Gamama abandon his friend. Giroro quickly grabbed his gun from the ground and aimed it directly at Nozizi.

Just as he pulled the trigger, Raido quickly ran up and shoved the gun out of aim. The bullet missed Nozizi, bounced against the metal of the ship, and struck Raido in the arm. He shrieked in pain and fell over on the grass.

"RAIDO!" Hikiki shrieked.

"Argh, fool! I'm sorry, but why did you do that?!" Giroro barked. Raido struggled to look up at him.

"He's my best friend. And whether he remembers me or not, I'm not going to let anyone hurt him," he said quietly, his voice tightened by pain.

Nozizi looked back at him with a very gentle gaze. Daikiki went up to him and helped pull his feet off the sidewalk. As Raido struggled back to his feet, gripping his throbbing arm, Gamama grabbed him and held him by his neck against the ship. The others went to try and fight back, but Eddodo got in their way, daring any of them to try and attack him.

"I've been trying for so long to kill you," Gamama snarled. Raido managed a glare.

"Why? What do you have against me? I've never tried to do the same. Why do you have to end my life?" he asked. Gamama stared a cold stare at him.

"You're a prophecy," he replied.

"I'm a what?"

"We all have our own special powers, Raidodo. And mine happens to be foresight in prophecies. I saw that with your Platoon you would be able to invade several planets throughout the universe. You would all be revered for your work as legends. However, I couldn't let it happen. It should be me. So as long as you're alive, you can become a legend."

"Look, so what if our futures were planned different?!" Raido barked, his voice growing weak as he began to suffocate, "It wasn't like we were trying to be the best Platoon in the universe!"

"Of course you weren't…" Gamama said, "But I am. And I will go through whatever extreme measures to achieve that aspiration." Suddenly, a rock flew through the air and struck Gamama on the head. He whirled around and noticed the Keroro Platoon.

"Who threw that?" he snarled. Keroro picked up another rock and threw it at him.

"You tore apart a Platoon for being destined to be great?" he snarled, picking up another rock.

"Stay out of this, you. The planet is yours to invade, but I want to destroy this pest once and for all," Gamama growled. Keroro gave Gamama an exasperated stare.

"Sounds like a decent compromise," he said, throwing a rock at him again.

"Hey! Stop that! Why'd you throw a third one?!"

"Well I found three rocks!"

"Ergh, infantile pests!" Gamama snarled, releasing Raido and aiming his gun at the Keroro Platoon. Raido looked up and became enraged. He got to his feet, regardless of being breathless and his bleeding arm.

"RAIDO IMPACT!" he shrieked, blasting a strong bolt of lightning from his mouth at Gamama. Gamama fell to the ground limply. Raido trembled weakly after the attack; small lightning bolts sparked from his mouth as he panted.

"What… was… that…?" Hikiki gasped.

"You haven't seen it either?" Keroro asked.

"He… had a deathblow…?" Tamama blinked. Gamama struggled to get up.

"Impossible…" he stammered. He looked back at Raido, who also seemed terrified with what he had pulled off. Gamama grunted and pointed at him.

"Attack," he commanded. Eddodo then tackled Raido over again.

"NO!" Keroro shouted, going to try and help. Gamama grabbed his gun off the ground, pressed a button on the side, and a bubble flew out and formed a cage around Keroro and his Platoon.

"Wha-?!" Keroro gasped, shaking the bars to the cage.

"Isn't this a design Kururu was working on?!" Giroro gasped.

"They stole the documents and built it for themselves…" Dororo said quietly.

"NO, YOU CAN'T HURT HIM! HE'S OUR FRIEND!" Tamama screamed. He blasted several beams at the cage bars, "TAMAMA IMPACT! TAMAMA IMPACT!"

"Give it up. Thanks to your Sergeant Major, that cage is totally fool proof," Gamama sneered.

"COME HERE AND SAY THAT AGAIN, YOU !?$#! YOU'RE GONNA NEED BREATHING TREATMENTS WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU!" Tamama bellowed.

"EDDODO, PLEASE!" Raido shrieked. Eddodo stood with one foot on his chest, with the same bloodthirsty stare. He opened his mouth and a ball of energy began to form. Raido went through several things and tried them out.

"Don't you remember anything? What about when we all used to go skateboarding? What about all those fights we had over Hikiki when we were little? We were like brothers!" he insisted. Eddodo stepped harder on his chest and got ready to release his deathblow. Raido cringed.

"Please… what about…" he got quiet before saying, "Imagine Mrs. Dorara with a pair of underwear on her head!" Eddodo's stare suddenly loosened and his deathblow faded away. He gazed at Raido with a look of realization. He immediately took his foot away and backed off quickly.

Giroro pointed his gun at the cage bars and blasted them open. Kururu came back out of the house with a laptop and laughed hysterically as he noticed the broken cage.

"Hey! YOUR DOCUMENTS SAID THAT CAGE WAS FOOL PROOF!" Gamama screamed.

"Kukuku," Kururu cackled, "Yes. And it is."

"But I'M not a fool," Giroro said. Gamama sweatdropped.

"Oh snap…" he muttered. He pointed towards the ship, "Alright, let's retreat."

"Hai, Lieutenant," Daikiki said, pushing Nozizi towards the ship. As the rest of Gamama's subordinates had boarded the ship, Keroro laughed.

"Hah! Your ship's broken down!" he reminded them. Gamama smirked.

"We don't need it to retreat," he said, pulling out another new invention of Kururu's: the Teleporter. He clicked a button on it and the Gamama Platoon glowed and disappeared.

They all looked around after the Platoon had left; the grass around the front yard had been ripped up in several patches.

"Augh, that was a mess…" Keroro sighed, "And so is the yard."

"At least no one was kidnapped or killed," Dororo said. Hikiki went quickly over to Raido, who was still lying on the grass.

"Raido? Are you okay…?" she asked. He sat up quietly.

"No…" he replied, getting to his feet and limping back towards the house. As he walked past the Keroro Platoon, Tamama noticed a single tear run down his cheek, leaving a clean streak in the dirt that had gotten on his face.


	7. Raido, Shadows of Depression

**Raido, Shadows of Depression… de arimasu.**

That afternoon, the group cleaned up after the fight with the Gamama Platoon. Since the battle, Raido hadn't spoken a word. He remained rather reserved in contrast to his usual perky character. Hikiki cleaned at the wound on his arm where Giroro's bullet had struck him. Tamama watched them as he rubbed a wet paper towel against the scratches on his arms and legs from where he had been tackled over by the deranged Eddodo. Hikiki tried talking to Raido.

"You were really brave," she said quietly, "Thanks for everything you did." He didn't even meet eye contact. He continued to blink slowly. Kururu walked in and slammed his laptop down on the counter, plopping down into a chair. He typed at the keyboard rapidly. Keroro walked up to him with an almost irritated expression.

"So, Kururu… what were you doing when you left the yard?" he asked.

"Yeah, you didn't really help at all. Except for the feeble attempt you made to beat up Eddodo after he threw Hikiki," Giroro added. Kururu typed a few last things on his laptop before turning around in his chair and pressing a button on the mouse. All of the stolen documents had been recovered.

"You got the documents back!" Keroro exclaimed with his usual grin back on his face.

"Kukuku, it was as easy as slicing butter," Kururu snickered, "Their security system is weak. What kind of security system did you put up, Hikiki?" Hikiki frowned at him.

"I didn't get the chance to put one up, dingbat. Do you really think you could hack into any computer of mine THAT easily?" she snapped. She finished tying a bandage around Raido's arm. He didn't do as much as say thanks.

"Hey, you put up a really good fight, Raido," Dororo said. Raido stared at his feet. The others gazed at him quietly. Keroro walked up and made an airplane noise.

"Hey, Raido! The plane's back! You should go try and beat it! I'd say after the way you pulled off that deathblow, you have a good sporting chance!" he exclaimed. Raido didn't even look up. Keroro began to realize how bad the situation was.

"Raido…?" he asked. Kururu slid off his chair and walked up to Raido.

"This'll get him," he said, yanking Raido's hat off. Raido made no attempt to get it back. Kururu frowned.

"Hey, dingbat. Wake up," he snapped. Hikiki slapped Kururu over the head and took Raido's hat back.

"YOU'RE the dingbat, you dingbat," she snarled, placing Raido's hat back on his head. Raido straightened it and got up silently, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

"Yeah, that didn't help at all," Keroro sighed. Hikiki lowered her head.

"I didn't mean for this to happen. I didn't want them to hurt any of you," she said quietly.

"Well, I'm fine. Thanks for your concern," Kururu said. Hikiki snapped a dirty look at him.

"Except you, dingbat. I would've been rejoicing if they had blasted you to Kingdom Come," she hissed.

"Ah, you don't mean that, Kukuku…" Kururu snickered, walking back to his computer.

"This isn't any time to be laughing like a loon, Kururu," Giroro snapped. He looked at his gun for a moment. He sighed, "It still intrigues me that he would pull something so stupid to save a friend that betrayed him."

"It isn't like we wanted to…" Hikiki said, starting to get upset, "We didn't have a choice…"

"You did! You could've run like Raido did!" Giroro exclaimed, "Of course if you DID, you could call yourself a coward!" Hikiki's eyes started to fill with tears.

"I DID RUN!" she cried, "AND IT WAS HARD, BUT I DID! I WASN'T BEING A COWARD! TO HAVE TO CHOOSE LEAVING YOUR BEST FRIENDS BEHIND IN ORDER TO GET AWAY FROM THE PERSON YOU HATE MOST IS HARDER THAN ANYTHING!" She choked on a sob and left the room.

The Keroro Platoon all stood silently. Suddenly a small round object struck Giroro in the back of the head.

"OW! What the heck?!" Giroro shrieked. He looked at the object and noticed a spiral on it. He snapped a glare at Kururu.

"What the heck, man?!" he snapped. Kururu merely glanced at him, feigning innocence, before looking back his computer screen.

"Guys, enough," Keroro said, "We've fought enough for today..."

"Agreed," Dororo replied, "I don't think we need to cause any more trouble." Tamama bowed his head.

"I hope they'll be okay," he said.

"Well… Raido should be okay, Hikiki might take a little extra talking to. You know how dramatic girls are," Keroro said.

"I don't think it's Hikiki you need to worry about!" Kururu snapped.

"Man, what is WRONG with you?! You're awfully testy for someone who didn't even get all that involved in the fight!" Giroro pointed out. Kururu frowned at them and turned back to his computer quietly.

"I-I've worked with Hikiki for a few weeks now," he stuttered, "She's not like… other girls. She's got a backbone. So… I don't think it's her we need to be concerned about… that's all…"

"Jeez, he speaks fairly nice words about her behind her back; go figure," Giroro muttered.

"I heard that; shut up, it's none of your business," Kururu barked.

"So, are you saying that Raido's in a worse state?" Tamama asked.

"I guess, Raido's not my concern," Kururu said bluntly.

"Funny how Raido didn't bother him until AFTER he met Hikiki," Giroro said with a smug grin. Kururu picked up a large gun sitting under the table and aimed it Giroro.

"Harass me one more time," he dared.

"Would you take it easy?! Sheesh!" Keroro snapped. He sat quietly in contemplation.

"Tamama… you seem pretty close to Raido; why don't you go talk to him?" he asked. Tamama nodded.

"Hai, desu," he replied. He turned towards the door and left the room.

He reached the living room and saw Raido out the window. He sat on the grass with his skateboard. Tamama went outside and sat next to him.

"Hey, Raido…" he said quietly. Raido didn't even acknowledge him. He knew already this was a bad start, "Are you gonna be alright…? Everyone is worried about you… Hiki-chan is worried about you…" Raido looked over at him a bit. He stood up and went back inside. Tamama sighed and got up, heading back to the base.

"So? What happened?" Keroro asked as he walked back into the room.

"Well… I asked if he was okay, but he didn't answer, then I told him that we were all worried about him, and then he got up and left," Tamama explained.

"Oh, yeah… this is pretty bad," Keroro sweatdropped. He turned to Dororo, "Well, you're Raido's other best friend! You could give it a try!"

"I will try as hard as possible," Dororo replied, standing up from his kneeling position and leaving the room.

(Dororo POV)

Dororo walked upstairs and found Raido in the living room, lying on the couch, staring at the ceiling. He went to him.

"Hey," he greeted. Raido stopped looking at the ceiling a moment to acknowledge Dororo's presence before continuing to stare upwards. Dororo got up on the couch.

"We're very sorry about what happened today. We'll do whatever it takes to help you through it, you can count on it," he said. Raido sighed a miserable sigh. He rolled over and faced the inside of the couch. Dororo felt a bit hurt by the gesture and got up to leave.

"What happened to you?" Keroro asked as Dororo walked in. He could tell that the others sensed his trauma switch.

"He doesn't want to talk to me… somehow that seems equivalent to how I'm treated by the four of you," he replied quietly. Tamama patted him on the shoulder.

"You tried," he said optimistically. Keroro looked over at Giroro and Kururu.

"Okay… Kururu, you're an irritating one, maybe you can pry some words out of him!" he said.

"Glad you think that, but whatever," Kururu sighed, getting up to try on his own.

(Kururu POV)

If there was anything Kururu didn't feel like doing at the moment, trying to help Raido was probably top on the list. Irritably, he located Raido on the couch and walked up to him.

"Alright, what's your problem? You've set off Dororo's trauma switch and shunned Tamama, aren't they your boyfriends or something?" he asked. Raido looked over his shoulder at him and frowned slightly. Kururu rolled his eyes.

"Don't be such a princess, Hikiki wouldn't like that about you," he said. Raido cocked an eyebrow. Kururu sighed, "I know more about her than you think. Example: She has an attraction to men who are… intelligent." Raido rolled his eyes and threw a pillow over his head, drowning out Kururu's voice. Kururu left without saying much else. What was the point? Raido wouldn't listen anyway.

"Surely, you got to him?" Keroro asked as he came through the door.

"Don't call me Shirley, and no, I didn't," Kururu replied, going to his computer and continuing his work. Keroro sighed.

"Okay, Giroro, you need to help him then," he said.

"Fine," Giroro replied.

(Giroro POV)

"Lazy idiot can't just talk to him by himself," Giroro muttered to himself as he climbed the ladder upstairs. Raido was getting off the couch.

"Hey, you," Giroro said. Raido stopped in his tracks. Maybe there was a chance? Giroro went to him.

"You're pretty good if Kururu can't even get you to talk," he said. Raido frowned irritably and continued walking. "Hey! I'm not through!" Giroro barked. Raido stopped and turned around. His expression was impatient. Giroro wondered if a gentle approach would be better, "Look… I'm… sorry about what I did. I know it was wrong to try and shoot at your friend. And I'm sorry that you were wounded from my mistake. I… I apologize." Raido gazed at him a moment. He didn't smile, but he merely nodded and slowly continued to walk off.

"Please be positive, please be positive, please come bearing good news and cookies!" Keroro begged as Giroro walked into the base. Giroro frowned.

"Why would I have either, idiot?!" he barked. He plopped down on the floor. He heard the door open behind him. He and the others looked back; Hikiki walked into the room.

"Hikiki, are you okay…?" Keroro asked.

"I'm… I'm doing better, yes," she replied. Giroro heard Kururu reply in words that almost sounded like "That's good." …but… this is Kururu we're talking about… he couldn't have said that… right?

"Have you talked to Raido?" Hikiki asked.

"Well, most of us have," Tamama replied, "But he won't talk back."

"Oh no… I don't think I've ever seen him that upset before… I'll go talk to him," Hikiki said, turning back around.

(Hikiki POV)

She went back up the ladder and looked around the living room, Raido wasn't there. She looked around the house and the yard and still couldn't locate him. Natsumi walked into the kitchen as Hikiki went to leave.

"What are you doing in here?" Natsumi asked irritably. Hikiki frowned.

"I was looking for my friend, chillax," she replied. Natsumi loosened up a bit.

"Oh…" she said, "Is that all?"

"Yeah, why?" Hikiki asked. Natsumi shrugged.

"Well, usually when one of you guys come in here it has something to do with a stupid invasion plan. Then someone makes a mess and if that stupid frog doesn't clean it, then I do," she replied. Hikiki loosened up as well.

"I apologize for their behavior," she said, "Back on my Platoon, I felt the same way…"

* * *

"Okay, now I know that since you were gone for at least two hours that you spoke with him," Keroro said as Hikiki walked into the base.

"Actually, I couldn't find him anywhere. I had a rather long talk with your Pekoponian girl, Natsumi," Hikiki replied. Then she glared at Keroro, "Now I understand why she calls you 'Stupid frog'."

"Lovely, you just had to talk with her didn't you?" Keroro sighed, "Augh, no matter. So you couldn't find Raido anywhere?"

"I searched the house I don't think he's here," Hikiki replied. As she answered, she felt sick. If Raido wasn't here… where was he…?

(Tamama POV)

"He's not… anywhere?" Tamama asked, beginning to feel worried.

"No, I don't know where he is, and I should but I don't!" Hikiki replied, starting to get panicky. Kururu left his laptop and went over to Hikiki.

"Hey, settle down," he said, "We'll find him alright?" Hikiki seemed to relax herself forcefully.

"H-Hai, Kururu-senpai," she replied. Tamama had never heard Hikiki address him like that. It was almost a little weird.

"Let's see… Giroro, what was he doing when you talked to him?" Keroro asked.

"He was going to another room, but I don't know what for," he replied. Keroro sighed thoughtfully and crossed his arms.

"Hikiki, why don't you check for him at Masaru-dono's house? I'll send Kururu with you. Tamama, you and Dororo go check the streets and see if he's skateboarding around there. Giroro, you and I-"

"No, I will go by myself," Giroro interrupted angrily. Keroro rolled his eyes.

"Fine," he sighed, "You go check the yard. I'll check the base and around the house. Move out."

Tamama and Dororo went out of the house and watched for Raido in the streets.

"Where do you think he could be?" Tamama asked.

"No idea," Dororo replied, "I imagine somewhere quiet and remote. Perhaps he wanted time alone?" Tamama thought over what Dororo had said.

"You're probably right… maybe we got on his nerves trying to help him so much…" he sighed. The two became quiet after that. They scanned the streets for hours. The sun began to set. Dororo noticed.

"It's getting dark. We should return to the base… someone probably found him," he spoke up. Tamama nodded and they turned around.

"Any luck?" Hikiki asked as they walked into the room.

"No," Dororo replied. Hikiki was obviously disappointed. She sat on the floor, hugging her legs. Kururu sat next to her. Giroro was lying down on the floor.

"What is taking that idiot so long?" he asked. The others looked over at him.

"What?" Hikiki asked.

"Keroro, why is it that he's taking longer than Tamama and Dororo. He had to search the house; they had to search the streets!" he pointed out.

As he spoke, Keroro walked into the room.

"So…? Did you guys find him?" he asked.

"No! And what have you been doing this whole time? Taking a nap?!" Giroro asked.

"…THAT and searching the house," Keroro replied reluctantly.

"Keroro, this is serious! How can you take a nap when you know full well that Raido is gone?!" Hikiki asked, getting up, "I don't understand that! Let me tell you, I will not sleep until we have found him and he is okay! I already lost him once!" The others stared at her. She sighed; she seemed to want to cry, but didn't want the others to see. She turned around and held her arms like she was cold.

"I can't lose him again…" she said quietly, "I can't live my own life without him." Kururu stared at her awhile. He got up finally and walked away from her, almost with a bit of emotional hurt. Tamama went to her and put his arms around her.

"We won't let you down, Hiki-chan," he assured her, "We'll find Raido-san."

_RaidoRaidoRaidoRaidoRaido…~_

"Hey… do you hear that…?" Giroro asked. Tamama listened carefully.

_RaidoRaidoRaidoRaidoRaido…~_

"It's Raido-senpai!" he exclaimed. They all looked around for his location.

"His resonance is very faint, how unusual…" Giroro commented.

"Kuku, that's because he isn't screaming his head off. I guess he learned a thing or two," Kururu said.

"But where is he…?" Hikiki asked. Keroro listened intently. Tamama waited.

"He's on the roof…" he said finally.

"How can you tell that from the basement…?" Hikiki sweatdropped.

"I've lived here a few years, I think I know Fuyuki, Natsumi, and Mama-dono's house by now," he replied, "I'll go see him."

(Keroro POV)

As Keroro reached the roof, he noticed Raido standing up and looking up at the sky.

_RaidoRaidoRaidoRaidoRaido…~_

He sounded his resonance off at the moon. Keroro smiled slightly and walked up to him quietly.

_KeroKeroKeroKeroKero…~_

Raido spun around and faced him nervously, his cheeks red with embarrassment. Keroro chuckled.

"I'm sorry! You have a nice resonance when you're not overdoing it," he complimented, "Have you been up here this whole time? We've been looking for you all afternoon." Raido looked down and nodded. Keroro sat on the edge of the roof, dangling his feet, "Come, sit, sit." Raido looked at him a bit before sitting next to him.

"I know Tamama has already told you, but we've all been concerned about you. We weren't trying to be a bother," Keroro told him. Raido stared out at the stars. Keroro watched him curiously.

"Raido-dono… we're your friends too… you can tell us anything. …you know that right…?" he asked. Raido was quiet.

"I'm so weak…" he said finally.

"Gero?" Keroro asked, "Raido-dono, no! You're not weak! You put up such a fight this morning! You even put Gamama in his place with that totally awesome deathblow!"

"Pfft. Big deal. So what if I have a deathblow? It's not like it actually helped anyone. It made me vulnerable, it wasn't strong enough to stop Gamama from sending out an attack order, it couldn't help bring my old friends out of danger… and…" He began to grow upset as he spoke; small tears streaked down his face, "…did you see the way Hikiki looked at me…? It's like I was… a monster…" Keroro gave Raido a comfort hug.

"Raido, it's okay," he said, "We'll help you bring them back. There wasn't anything we could do this time, you aren't weak…" Raido had broken into silent sobs. Keroro felt a bit better that Raido was finally speaking, though it still bothered him that Raido was in so much pain. Raido wiped the tears from his face shamefully.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't burden you guys like that," he said quietly, pulling away from Keroro's friend-hug.

"No, no, it's fine, are you gonna be okay?" Keroro asked. Raido nodded and got up.

"I should talk to the others. I've kept quiet today… but that doesn't mean I had nothing to say…" he replied. Keroro looked up at him. Raido turned around and went back inside. Keroro smiled; out of all of the ones who went to talk to him, only he could get through him.

Keroro followed Raido back to the base. As Raido went in first, he heard Giroro speak.

"So, what did he say, Keroro…?" he asked. Keroro walked in. Giroro had his back to them.

"Ask him for yourself," Keroro said. Giroro turned around and looked amazed.

"Raido?!" he gasped. Raido walked over to Tamama first.

(Tamama POV)

"Raido-san?" Tamama asked. Raido looked at him with a small smile.

"Hey, buddy," he said, "I'm sorry for cutting you short earlier. I'm glad you were all concerned about my well-being, but you don't need to worry. I'll be fine. Just take care of yourself, okay?" Tamama was surprised by the words.

"Uh, hai, Raido-san…" he replied. Raido went to Dororo next.

(Dororo POV)

"Dororo, I'm sorry for ignoring you. There was a lot on my mind at the moment; I hope you'll forgive me," Raido apologized, "Thanks for your support. I guess without friends like you I wouldn't be here, right?" Dororo stared at Raido.

"Raido-dono… you will always be my friend," he said. Raido smiled.

"Thanks, buddy, that means a lot," he said. Dororo felt himself grin. It had been awhile since someone had called him "buddy." Raido went to Kururu next.

(Kururu POV)

"Well, while you were probably no help at all to me, I do have some words for you as well," Raido said. Kururu didn't even look at him. After all, he could listen to someone ramble and type at the same time. That's called multi-tasking!

"I'll bet you do," Kururu replied.

"Look, just because I don't let things go as easily as you do doesn't make me a 'princess'," Raido said, "And… also I'm glad that you've made good friends with Hikiki. I mean… if I'm not around there has to be somebody to keep her safe… right?" Kururu couldn't believe that Raido said that.

"He's not my friend, he's an acquaintance!" Hikiki protested. Kururu giggled at the comment.

"Kuku. You heard her," he said. Raido chuckled.

"Hey, even a good acquaintance is a good friend," he replied. Kururu didn't understand… was Raido trying to say that… he was his friend? As he turned around to reply, Raido had already gone to Giroro.

(Giroro POV)

"What…? Me?" Giroro asked. Raido nodded with a smile.

"I want you to know that you're forgiven for shooting at Nozizi," he said, "And hey, a little bullet in the arm isn't going to kill me. It's fine." Giroro admired the words.

"You sure are a brave soldier," he said, giving Raido a small salute. Raido smiled and returned the gesture. Finally, he turned towards Hikiki.

(Hikiki POV. Last POV today. ...thank God.)

Hikiki felt herself blush as Raido spoke his first words to her.

"Even though we haven't spoken much today… I think I have the most to say to you," he said. He took her left hand, her cheeks burned.

"Y-Yes?" she stammered. Raido looked into her eyes with a small smile.

"I… I'm sorry for giving you a scare today. I should've told you about my deathblow. It's just… today was only the third time I had ever used it in my whole life… I used it to protect you guys," he said. Hikiki blushed harder.

"Raido-kun…" she whispered. He blushed back.

"I… also wanted to say that… after watching the way that… Gamama spoke to you… I just… I don't know how you lived like that for four years. And… if things don't work out for the others…" He broke off. Hikiki waited patiently for him to continue. At last, Raido threw his arms around her and cried softly onto her cheek.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, "I know you don't like guys that cry, and I hope that won't mess up our friendship. I just wanted you to know that if things don't work out for Daikiki, Nozizi, and Eddodo, that you'll be all I have left. And I want you to know that even if you are the only one I have, I would still be happier than anyone in the universe. Because… you… you're everything to me…" Hikiki felt her entire face burn as his tears fell down her cheeks. Could this be… a love confession?

"Aw, how sweet," Keroro smiled, "I guess that everything worked out in the end!"

"Tch, what a stupid ending," Kururu snarled.

"Getting a little TOO protective of our student, are we?" Giroro asked smugly.

"ALRIGHT, I'VE HAD IT!" Kururu yelled, grabbing out the gun and jumping out of his seat, chasing Giroro around the room.

"Eh, should we stop him…?" Hikiki asked.

"Nah, he had it comin'," Keroro replied.


	8. Raido and Hikiki Unspoken Words

**Keroro Gunso**

**Raido and Hikiki – Unspoken Words Finally Said… de arimasu**

It had been two weeks since the encounter with the Gamama Platoon. Since then, not a lot had happened. Nothing exciting took place. Although, the Keroro Platoon had become a lot closer with their outsider friends Raido and Hikiki. It was all thought that maybe the encounter with Gamama had been like a blessing in disguise, bringing the two groups of friends together to form an even stronger team. What they didn't know was that it also brought two friends closer than ever before.

It was reaching eleven o' clock at night. Hikiki could hardly keep her eyes open as Kururu showed her how to invent an airboard. She normally stood up to keep herself at attention, but she now found it difficult support her own weight. Slowly, she leaned sideways a bit as she dozed off. She rested her head on something somewhat warm. Kururu shook her gently.

"Hey, wake up," he said. Hikiki opened her eyes and noticed she had rested her head on his shoulder. He blushed a little. She stood up straight to avoid giving him the wrong idea.

"I'm sorry, Kururu-senpai," she apologized, rubbing her eyes wearily. She yawned, covering her mouth as she did so. Kururu looked up at the clock.

"It's getting late," he said, "We can continue this tomorrow."

"Okay, that sounds great," she replied, walking off wearily to head back to Masaru's. Kururu walked her to the door of his lab.

"Hey… you look tired," he said, "Maybe you should, uh… stay here for tonight? I think there's an extra room here…" Hikiki sweatdropped. It really was rare that Kururu would give out a sweet suggestion, but it felt weird to accept the offer.

"Eh… that's very polite of you, but I think I can manage to go back to Masaru-dono's house. But I appreciate your kind gesture, I hope you'll understand," she replied tentatively. Kururu seemed slightly disappointed but he just merely shrugged.

"Y-Yeah, I understand…" he replied, "I'll see you tomorrow then…" Hikiki smiled and waved back at him.

"Hey, Hiki-chan," Raido greeted her as she walked into the living room, "You ready to go?" Hikiki nodded. Raido got up quietly and gestured over at the sofa. Hikiki looked over; Giroro had fallen asleep, hugging a pillow with one arm and sucking his thumb on the free hand. On the opposite side of the couch, Keroro had dozed off resting his head on the arm of the sofa. Tamama had fallen asleep, resting his head on Keroro's lap. Hikiki smiled at the cute sight.

"They all just fell asleep like that trying to come up with invasion plans?" she asked. Raido nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, it was kind of funny to watch," he replied. He looked back at them and then at her, "We should let them sleep. We need to rest up for tomorrow too." Hikiki nodded and went with Raido out the front door.

After a long quiet walk, they reached Masaru's front yard. Raido broke the silence between them.

"Are you tired?" he asked. Since they had been walking awhile, Hikiki was fully awake.

"Not really," she replied. Raido stopped walking; Hikiki stopped too. He turned his head towards her.

"Good… I… I wanted to talk with you…" he said quietly. She blushed slightly. He led her past Masaru's house. They walked to the large valley that neighbored his yard. Raido stopped her in the middle of the valley.

Hikiki looked around the area.

"Raido… why did you bring me here?" she asked. Raido looked over at her.

"This is where I crash-landed," he replied. For some reason, it amazed Hikiki.

"Are you serious?! This is really where you landed after Gamama shot your ship down?!" she asked.

"Heh, yeah," Raido replied, "I had Kururu help me get the ship towed back to Keron a few days before you came." He sighed, "But… that's not what I wanted to talk to you about." He took her hand and sat down, "Do you want to sit?" Hikiki cocked her head.

"O-Okay…" she replied, sitting on the grass beside him. He inhaled deeply and sighed.

"I know I don't talk to you about this as much as I should… but was there ever a moment when you and the guys would ever get to talk? Not… business related but… as friends?" he asked.

"Well, yes, you've seen me talk with them. Tamama's a sweet kid-" Hikiki started.

"Not… not those guys… the other guys…" Raido said. Hikiki understood immediately.

"Oh…" she said quietly. She stopped looking at Raido and up at the sky, "A little… I remember comforting Nozizi a lot. He's grown very sensitive… well, Gamama was to blame for that. There were a few times that I asked Eddodo how he was, though he could never give me an answer. Also, the day we thought you had died, Daikiki stayed with me a lot to help keep me calm." Raido smiled slightly.

"It's nice to hear that he hasn't lost his sensitive side," he said.

"Well… what about you? After we were separated four years ago, what did you do? What happened to your other Platoon?" Hikiki asked. Raido leaned back to lay on the grass.

"I didn't stay with them long…" he replied, "I don't even remember their names. I stayed with them for about ten minutes and then I left. They were jerks anyway though; they all only cared about themselves. It was like a whole Platoon of Kururus." Hikiki chuckled but stopped herself.

"Kururu isn't a bad person, Raido… He's just… misunderstood," she replied. Raido thought that over.

"You're right. I'm sorry… I shouldn't talk about our friends like that…" he said, then looking at Hikiki nervously, "He IS just a friend right?" Hikiki chuckled and lay down next to him.

"He's just an acquaintance, don't you worry…" she said, and then she blushed and looked over at him.

"Why…? You sounded really concerned…" she said. Raido blushed.

"Uh… no reason… I'm just making sure that you're safe," he replied nervously.

"That's awfully sweet of you," Hikiki said with a smile. They both fell very quiet. Hikiki felt that if she were to ever tell Raido how she really felt that the time was now. The problem could be described in one word: how?

She sat up quietly and pondered over a way to tell him. It didn't take long to figure it out. She took a deep breath and spoke.

"It didn't seem like very long ago," she started, "There was once a tadpole. She had no friends to call her own; her life was hard. One day, she met someone who was like an angel. He was everything she had ever hoped for and they became friends. For awhile, it was like he was a good luck charm; he helped the girl find friends and laughter – happiness. Before long, the girl began to feel differently towards him. He was no longer the child that she grew up with. He was the man she, now a young woman, began to fall for. One day, all so suddenly, he vanished from her life. She was trapped by a demon. Her life began to fall apart again; her friends began to fade away and her happiness was completely gone. The girl had never realized how much she had needed the angel. Before it was over, she escaped the demon and found the angel. It was just like before – he helped her feel happiness again, he helped her find new friends. There finally came a time when she could no longer hide her feelings from him. So, she confessed her love to him…"

Hikiki's heart pounded like a drum and her face burned like it was being scorched by a flame. She could hardly find the courage to look at Raido's face. She turned her head to face him slowly, awaiting his response. He gazed at her quietly. Though it was dark, she could see him blushing. He finally smiled and sat up.

"I guess it's up to the angel to finish the story… huh…?" he asked. Hikiki smiled. He took her hand into his and sat closer to her, looking into her eyes. He finished off what she had started,

"The angel smiled at the girl. He was filled with more joy than he had felt in years. He looked at the girl, and she looked back at him, and he told her that he had felt the same way for so long. He also said that even he couldn't have brought up enough courage to say it first. That maybe… she was his angel."

"Oh, Raido-kun…" Hikiki cooed, wrapping her arms around him. She felt his arms wrap around her tightly and his lips press against her cheek tenderly. She felt herself grin. Quietly, Hikiki could hear Raido very faintly whisper a resonance to her, though he did not chant his own name, he spoke hers. She smiled and resonated his name back to him…

(Insert resonance of Raido and Hikiki that shapes into a heart that doesn't show up here but it does on dA. FAIL)

As they grew quiet again, Hikiki looked back at Raido and smiled. He smiled back at her. He helped her to her feet and hugged her again. As they started to pull away, they looked at each other quietly. They leaned forward again and kissed. After a solid ten-second lip-lock, they finally parted, blushing severely.

"Heh… I-I guess we should head back to Masaru's then, huh…?" Raido stammered with a bashful smile. Hikiki had almost completely forgotten about how late it was.

"Uh… right," she said shyly. They walked back to Masaru's house hand-in-hand. They got inside quietly, careful not to wake up Masaru or his grandmother. Raido walked Hikiki to her room.

"I'll see you in the morning, okay, Hiki-chan?" he asked sweetly. She smiled.

"Okay," she replied, "Good night, Raido-kun." They both kissed each other on the cheek before parting ways for the night.


	9. Kururu, Where's the Heart to Break?

**Keroro Gunso**

**Kururu, Where's the Heart to Break? ...de arimasu**

It was nearing noon, and the Keroro Platoon was completely out of ideas for the invasion. They tried thinking of several different ideas, each had a catch. As everything fell silent as they went into deep thought, the door opened. Raido and Hikiki both walked in. The Platoon perked up.

"Yay! You're here! You can help us with ideas now!" Keroro exclaimed. As Tamama turned around in his chair, he noticed something strange about them. They seemed to stand closer together than they usually did; they held each other's hand. The others seemed to notice it too.

"So... uh... what's up...?" Keroro asked, glancing at the two curiously.

"Not much," Raido said with a shy smile. Hikiki bashfully swung her other arm gently back and forth.

"Sure doesn't look like 'not much'," Giroro said with a cocked eyebrow. Both Hikiki and Raido shrugged shyly. Keroro walked around them and gazed at them both.

"You know..." he started, "I think today might be Bird watching Day. Because I spot a pair of lovebirds!"

"Really?! Where?!" Mois asked, looking out the window excitedly. Tamama rolled his eyes irately.

"You could say, blonde moment...?" he sighed in a high pitched tone similar to Mois'.

"So?" Keroro asked them anxiously, "Are you?" Raido smiled a bit more.

"Alright, yeah, we're going steady," he admitted.

"Aw, I'll bet you guys are all smoochy and lovey-dovey with each other, you sickos!" Keroro laughed. Hikiki's cheeks reddened.

"Yeah, I guess we are," she chuckled.

Tamama grinned at how goofy Keroro was acting. He looked over at Kururu. As he saw the look on his face, his smile faded. Kururu expressed very little, though his usual smirk was lost. He stared at Hikiki blankly. Keroro turned around towards the others.

"Well, just because you two are lovey-dovey, doesn't mean you can start up in front of us," he teased, "So no being gross and smooching, you might scare Tamama."

"Or Giroro," Dororo laughed. Giroro blinked.

"W-What the heck was THAT supposed to mean?!" he barked. Now everyone was laughing. Everyone but Kururu. Keroro looked at him, still trying to get a hold of himself.

"Don't you think that's funny, Kururu?" he asked. Kururu did not even manage a "Kukuku." The others slowly stopped laughing. Kururu looked over at Raido. He stared at him awhile before a small frown was expressed on his face. He walked off, going to his lab.

"Well, that was odd. He usually laughs at everything," Giroro pointed out.

"Yeah..." Keroro said quietly. Raido looked around nervously.

"Was it something I did...?" he asked, "He glared at me for a second. Didn't you see that?"

"I did..." Dororo said, "Well... I know it might sound weird, but maybe he's upset because he feels like he can't sexually harass you anymore."

"...yeah, that DID sound weird," Keroro said. Dororo looked at him, hurt.

"I don't think that's it..." Tamama said, "He looked at Hikiki earlier..." They all fell quiet.

"C-Could it be possible...?" Giroro asked.

"Don't be ridiculous," Keroro sighed, "You don't REALLY think that Kururu could be in love with her. ...do you...?" The others were quiet.

"It's... probably true, Keroro..." Raido said quietly, "A lot of guys like Hikiki. Kururu probably fell for her like the others..."

"Kururu doesn't really strike anyone as typical," Giroro said.

"Maybe he isn't," Hikiki said, "Most guys like me for my looks. Kururu and I share a lot of similarities; we're both Sgt. Majors, we both do well on the computer, we both agree that the other is inferior..."

"That might explain why he tried to attack Eddodo after he hurt Hikiki. And why he threw that thing at Giroro when he made her cry," Dororo said.

"Jeez, you're right..." Keroro said quietly, "I never even noticed until you said it just now."

"Man, this is going to cause a lot of problems..." Raido said, stressfully rubbing at his head, "We just got together yesterday. I didn't think there would be any issues this early in the relationship..."

"Well, that's what you get for picking a popular girl," Giroro said.

"Oh come ON, can you blame me?! I mean look at her!" Raido exclaimed, motioning towards Hikiki. She blushed.

"Oh, Raido-kun..." she giggled.

"You're making me sick; stop it, both of you," Keroro gagged.

"Yes, let's get back to the discussion on Kururu," Dororo said.

"But what can we do? I mean, Kururu's very hard to get along with..." Raido said.

"True, but we can always try. Or... YOU can always try," Keroro said with a small evil grin. Raido gulped.

"You want ME to go talk to him...?" he muttered.

"Yes. It's your problem, why don't you fix it?"

"Look, I really don't think that's necessary," Hikiki said nervously. Raido rested his hand on her shoulder and sighed.

"No, it's fine, I'll go try and sort things out," he said.

"A-Are you sure...?" Tamama asked.

"Yeah, I mean, what's the worst that could happen, right?" Raido asked. The four Keroro Platoon members all began to nervously fidget and stutter random gibberish. Raido sighed in discomfort and went off towards Kururu's lab. Tamama watched him nervously. He knew that Kururu wasn't merciful. He also knew what the power of jealousy could do to people. Because Kururu was a super genius, he could come up with anything to punish Raido. Just the thought of the horrible things Kururu could do to his friend made him horrified. He couldn't stand it. He had to see what was going to happen and prevent anything possible.

Tamama secretly followed Raido to Kururu's lab. Raido walked up towards the door and knocked on it. Normally, Kururu would ask what the person wanted. But this time he didn't even answer.

"Kururu," Raido called up, "I need to talk with you." Tamama expected Kururu to bluntly reply, "I don't want to," but was surprised when he didn't reply at all.

"Kururu... please...?" Raido asked. There was a pause before the door opened. Raido stepped in cautiously; Tamama slipping in stealthily behind him. He hid behind one of Kururu's large inventions and watched Raido from a distance. Raido walked up to Kururu's chair slowly.

"Hey... you alright...?" he asked. Kururu slowly turned the chair towards him. He gave him a cold stare. Very faintly, Tamama could see Raido tremble.

"Uh... okay...? Um... I just wanted to uh..." Raido stammered.

"Shut up," Kururu said plainly. Raido immediately stopped talking. Kururu slid off the chair and walked slowly over to a small compartment. He pressed a button on the side of it and reached inside. He pulled out a small gun; it appeared to be a new invention of his. Kururu turned and faced Raido, aiming the gun at him. The red Keronian backed up a bit.

"Do you know what this is?" Kururu asked him. Raido stared at it.

"N-no..." he stammered. Kururu stepped closer.

"This is a new creation of mine. I call it the 'Atomic Gun'. Do you know WHY I call it that?" he asked. Raido was evidently becoming even more nervous.

"Uh... I dunno, why?" he asked as casually as possible. Kururu paused.

"Because it has the power of an Atomic Bomb," he replied, "At least, it should. However... it's never been tested." He paused again, staring at Raido. Tamama's eyes widened. Raido backed up more.

"Uh, well... you know what they say; you should never test products on animals!" Raido said nervously. Kururu didn't speak.

Suddenly, Kururu pulled the trigger and there was a small explosion. Smoke filled the lab and Tamama covered his nose and mouth to avoid coughing. As the smoke cleared, he looked back at the two. They were both singed and burned.

"Oh darn," Kururu said, "It didn't work. Of course, I can fix that in a second. Just hang around..." Raido stiffened.

"Uh-I think I heard Gunso calling me!" he exclaimed, walking back towards the door. Kururu wrinkled his nose.

"That's what I thought..." he snarled. Raido ran back through the doors. Tamama looked back at Kururu. The yellow Keronian looked around his lab; a few things had broken in the explosion. He just silently went to repairing them. Tamama watched him quietly. Kururu expressed so little. It was impossible to tell what was going through his head. Tamama finally sighed and left the lab.

He followed Raido very quietly back to the Platoon base. Tamama was glad that he followed him because when they reached the living room, Raido finally passed out from the explosion. Tamama went to him and dragged him back to the base.

"Raido!!" Hikiki gasped running to them.

"Holy Kero!" Keroro exclaimed, "What the heck did he do?!"

"He kinda… used him as a lab rat," Tamama sweatdropped.

"Augh, I don't care what he's going through; that was immature!" Hikiki snapped. Raido began to regain consciousness.

"Wha-? Where am I?" he murmured, sitting up.

"Just take it easy…" Giroro said, "You're at the base."

"Did Kururu really use you as a lab rat?" Keroro asked. Tamama snapped a glare at him.

"Oh, what? You didn't believe what I told you?" he snarled.

"Yeah, yeah, he used me as a lab rat…" Raido muttered, putting one hand to his head, "The part that scares me is that the invention was a failure."

"Well, Kururu's a little demonic-" Dororo started.

"A little?" the other five asked with an exasperated stare. Dororo sweatdropped.

"Alright, he's really demonic," he sighed. Hikiki brushed off some of the ashes from Raido's cheek.

"But you're okay aren't you?" she asked. Raido sighed.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" he said. Tamama sat quietly before bowing his head.

"I don't think Kururu is…" he said quietly. The others looked back quickly.

"What? Is he hurt?" Keroro asked with a bit of concern.

"Not the same way…" Tamama replied.

"Oh…" There was silence. Finally, Raido stood up.

"Guys, can I have minute alone with Hikiki?" he asked.

"Ew! No! I don't trust leaving you two alone in the same room!" Keroro gagged.

"It's not like that, moron!" Raido said irately, "I just need to talk with her."

"Well, one thing leads to another…" Keroro murmured.

"What?!"

"What wonderful weather we're having. Go ahead; we'll leave you two… alone…"

As soon as the Platoon had left, Keroro propped his ear up against the door.

"Oh, for the love of Pete…" Giroro sighed, propping his own ear against the door. Tamama pressed his ear against the door and listened to the conversation.

"Look, I have a really big favor to ask…" Raido said quietly.

"Okay…?" Hikiki said patiently.

"I think you need to talk to him."

"What?! Why me?" Hikiki asked nervously.

"If he loves you, then he'll listen to you! And he won't hurt you either. If he does, then I'll hurt him worse!" Raido promised. Hikiki sighed.

"Alright, alright, I'll talk to him…" She got quiet, "What should I say…?"

"Whatever you think will help. Just do what you need to do that you're comfortable with – no matter what that means…" They both got quiet again.

"You really do whatever you can to make your friends happy, don't you…?" Hikiki said, with a very captivated tone. Raido didn't reply. It could be assumed that he shrugged shyly here. Keroro took his ear away from door and stared at it with a look of suspicion. He suddenly kicked it open. Apparently, Raido and Hikiki had started to kiss.

"I KNEW I COULDN'T TRUST YOU TWO LOVERS TO STAY ALONE!" he announced. Raido's face reddened.

"Keroro, giving us a minute alone doesn't mean leave the room and then listen at the door! Just for future references!" he barked. Keroro slumped a bit.

"Touché," he said quietly. Then he looked over at Hikiki, "Well if you're going to go talk to him, now would be a great time." Hikiki seemed to get a little uncomfortable.

"Alright, wish me luck…" she said quietly. She walked off towards Kururu's lab. Tamama began to think about Raido's last experience. If he were to be a good friend, he would go and keep an eye on his girlfriend to prevent her from any harm. So naturally, he followed.

This trip was very different than when he had followed Raido. Instead of Hikiki having to call up to Kururu, the door opened automatically like that of an automatic grocery store door. This gave Tamama little time to slip in behind Hikiki. He watched as she went to Kururu, who was still quietly repairing his lab.

"Hey…" she said quietly. Kururu paused. He very merely looked over his shoulder. He looked back up front and continued repairs. Hikiki sighed and walked up closer to him.

"So, you almost done repairing everything…?" she asked. Kururu didn't respond. Tamama found this rather typical of him. Hikiki paused awhile. "I heard about what happened earlier." Kururu didn't seem to care. "Well, I just wanted to say… I'm not mad…" Kururu still didn't care. Finally, Hikiki sighed.

"Kururu, when we first met I found you as a very irritating person. I thought I was never going to get along with you. But as time goes by I guess I got to see a different side of you," she said quietly. Kururu stopped working on repairs. He did not reply, nor did he look at her, though it was apparent that he was listening intently. It somehow amazed Tamama to watch Kururu actually seem to care about what someone else thought. Hikiki continued.

"I've really learned to like you. I know that others think you're a very dislikeable soul, but I really don't think that way, even though I probably have told you twenty times…" She paused to see if Kururu had anything to say. He didn't, so she went on, "I'm not blind, okay…? I know that you've done a lot for me, even though you've done it in as many subtle ways as possible. You really aren't a bad person; I want you to know that. In fact… you're like my best friend. Because… you are."

Kururu was quiet. Hikiki sighed. She had already said as much as she could, and Tamama knew it. She began to turn around to walk away, but very quietly, Kururu muttered,

"I'm not your friend… I'm an acquaintance." Hikiki smiled and went back to him.

"Okay then," she said, "You're my best acquaintance."

Suddenly as an odd twist, Hikiki did something that Tamama had never in his life imagined anyone, let alone Hikiki would do. She gave Kururu a kiss. Even Kururu, as smart as he was, seemed like he had no idea what had just happened. Tamama had only watched them lock lips for about five seconds before he began to feel like he was going to throw up. He had to look away for a few minutes and take a few deep breaths before losing his nausea. He finally looked back.

Hikiki had pulled away while Tamama was adverting his eyes. Kururu hadn't really reacted much. He blushed a bit, staring into her eyes. One of his hands seemed to obliviously hold Hikiki's. He leaned forward and kissed her back. Tamama began to feel sick again and he looked away. How the helicopter could anyone kiss… Kururu?

Finally, Hikiki slowly pulled away from him, gently letting go of his hand and walking away; Kururu watched her. Tamama didn't bother seeing what else Kururu would do afterwards and he followed Hikiki out of the lab.

As they reached the base, Keroro and the others approached Hikiki eagerly.

"So?" Raido asked. Hikiki gave a single nod.

"He's gonna be just fine," she replied. The others sighed in relief. Raido gave Hikiki a hug.

"I didn't doubt you for a second, Hiki-chan. You're the best," he smiled. She blushed and hugged him back.

"Thanks, Raido-kun," she grinned.

"Alright, alright, break it up," Keroro grumbled, "So, Tamama, did everything go smoothly?" Hikiki abruptly looked back and realized Tamama had seen the whole thing. Tamama wanted to tell Keroro the truth, but he gazed at Raido and Hikiki and…

"Smooth as butter," Tamama replied.

"Since when do we compare things to butter? First Kururu and now Tamama…" Giroro muttered.

"Well who cares? Anyway, now that the heartbreak mess has been settled, why don't we work on another invasion plan… after lunch?" Keroro asked.

"What?!" Giroro barked.

"Sure, I'm fine with that," Raido replied. Giroro slapped his forehead.

"Both of you-!" he groaned.

"Ah, who cares what you think!" Keroro sighed, "What do you say, Tamama? Up for lunch?" Tamama cringed.

"No thanks, I'm not hungry…" he mumbled, still sick from the odd display only ten minutes earlier. Keroro stared at him.

"Are you feeling okay…?" he asked.

"Y-Yeah! I'm fine!" Tamama lied with a forced grin.

"Must've eaten too much junk food this morning," Giroro said.

"Probably," Keroro said, "Well, if you feel up to anything, c'mon upstairs."

"Hai, desu," Tamama replied. Keroro, Giroro, and Dororo left the room. Raido started to leave, but then stopped at the doorway and looked over at Hikiki, who still hadn't moved.

"Are you coming, Hikiki?" he asked.

"I-I think I'll stay with Tamama and keep him company," she replied. Raido smiled.

"Okay, I'll see you in a few then," he replied.

As he left the room, Hikiki turned to Tamama.

"What all did you see…?" she whispered. Tamama looked over at her.

"K-Kind of everything…" he murmured. Hikiki buried her face in her hands.

"Oh…no…" she groaned; her voice getting higher as she began to cry. Tamama felt guilty.

"I-I wasn't trying to be nosy, Hikiki-chan! I promise! I was making sure that you would be safe; I was trying to be a good friend! Please don't cry," he apologized.

"Oh, I know you weren't trying to be nosy…" Hikiki sniffled, "I just can't believe I did that… I've been in love with Raido since I was a little girl. I don't understand what told me to kiss Kururu…"

"Well… Raido-san said to do anything you had to. Maybe that was really the only way to help Kururu-senpai…"

"I could've just left it at him being my best acquaintance… I wasn't forced upon anything…"

Tamama watched Hikiki cry into her hands. He put his arm around her to comfort her. Hikiki looked over at him and wiped her eyes with the back of her hands.

"You won't tell anyone… will you…?" she asked quietly.

"No, I promise I won't," Tamama replied. They both sat quietly for awhile. Finally Tamama looked up at her and sighed as he asked, "I hope you don't mind me asking… but… what was that experience like…?" Hikiki was quiet. she bowed her head slightly and replied,

"The part that bothers me… is that it wasn't bad at all…"


	10. FILLER

**Keroro Gunso**

**Battles, ants, and Megane Megane Megane… de arimasu!**

**(In other words, this chapter is a lazy filler/ off-topic chapter that serves hardly any purpose, except to point out some interests, background info, and behaviors in characters. But you'll like it anyway. Oh, you will. (glare)...)**

Tamama walked into Keroro's room to be greeted by happy socializing. Raido and Keroro sat together with a stack of Gunpla model boxes and Airplane model boxes.

"Oh, hey, Tamama! How's it goin'?" Raido asked. Tamama cocked his head.

"Great… um… where's everyone else? It's hard to imagine that you would be here without Hiki-chan, Raido-san," he replied. Raido shrugged.

"Where do you think she is? She's with Kururu, in the middle of an inventing session. We try not to bother them in the middle of those, y'know?" he asked. Tamama felt a little sick. Ever since he had witnessed Hikiki and Kururu's tender moment the previous two weeks ago, it had always been hard for him to hear that they were alone together in Kururu's lab. Raido lifted his hat slightly; a very small tuft of his light brown hair stuck out. He put his hand to his forehead and a small speck crawled onto his hand.

"Hey, check out Raido's new pet," Keroro grinned. Tamama stepped closer to get a better look at the speck. It was some sort of insect.

"Is that a flea? Because if it is, I don't want to be anywhere near you," Tamama said, backing off a bit. Raido chuckled.

"No, he's not a flea. He's an ant. See?" he asked, holding up the bug for Tamama to see. Tamama gazed at it. It was a small amber-colored ant with cute beady eyes. It was a very adorable creature.

"Aw, now I see!" Tamama smiled. The ant crawled up Raido's arm and onto his head. Raido smiled at it.

"I found him on the way over this morning. He followed Hikiki and me awhile so we decided to keep him. He's a cute little guy," he said, stroking the ant's head gently, making sure not to squish it.

"What's his name?" Tamama asked.

"Hasn't got one yet."

"What about Admiral Geroro?" Keroro asked. Raido sweatdropped.

"You don't name an ant that…" he muttered.

"Well, you could name it after Hikiki. Girls are suckers for guys that-"

"Um, no. While Hikiki agrees that's he's cute, I don't know how many brownie points you get for naming your girlfriend after an insect that is commonly frowned upon as a pest of the Pekoponians. Plus, this ant is a guy." Keroro sweatdropped.

"This is true," he sighed, scratching the back of his head.

The room was quiet as Tamama and Raido thought about names. The only sound was the small clipping noise of Keroro cutting out pieces to his Gunpla model. Tamama observed the ant's color.

"How about Ambercrombie?" he suggested. Raido cocked his head.

"I think you mean Abercrombie," he said. Tamama shook his head, his hat flaps swinging back and forth.

"No, I mean Ambercrombie. Look, he's amber-colored. Therefore: Ambercrombie," he pointed out. Raido looked at the ant and grinned.

"Oh yeah! Nice observation, Tamama! I think I'll keep it! Thanks!" he smiled. Tamama grinned.

"No problem, desu!" he replied.

As Raido and Keroro discussed the new name, Tamama heard faint conversation coming from the hallway. He went over to the door and listened closer. He recognized the voices as Hikiki and Kururu.

"Kururu, no; I just… I can't…" Hikiki said quietly.

"Why? You aren't happy with him," Kururu replied.

"What? What are you talking about?! I'm plenty happy with Raido; how do you have the heart to say something like that?!" Hikiki snapped back in a harsh whisper.

"He… He doesn't love you enough. I think he could do more for you," Kururu stuttered.

"What do you know? You haven't seen him with me!" Hikiki whispered angrily, "Raido doesn't do as much with me here because we know it bothers you! We set aside our relationship to protect you!"

"If you care so much about me…" Kururu started, "…why don't you show it?"

"Kururu, I told you, I'm not having an affair with you, okay?"

"So leave him."

"Don't say that, you dingbat!" Hikiki snapped a little louder.

"Hikiki, wait!" Kururu said quickly. There was a pause. Finally, Kururu sighed.

"Please… please…" he begged quietly. There was another pause.

"I'm sorry, Kururu… but I love him…" Hikiki replied in a whisper.

Tamama stepped away from the door quickly as it opened. Hikiki noticed him.

"Oh! Tamama…" she muttered nervously.

"Hi," Tamama sweatdropped. He mouthed an apology to her. Hikiki nodded very slightly and kissed his forehead forgivingly. Kururu stormed into the room behind her and went to the computer, plopping into the chair next to it as if gravity had suddenly thrown him into it. He nearly tore apart the keyboard as he typed angrily.

"Hey, Kururu," Raido greeted with a friendly smile.

"Don't talk to me," Kururu snarled fiercely. Raido sweatdropped and sat up a little. Tamama looked up at Hikiki. She frowned at Kururu and went over to Raido. He smiled slightly at her.

"Hey, Hiki-" he started. Hikiki dropped to her knees beside him and threw her arms around Raido, giving him a rather affectionate kiss on the lips. Raido pulled away quickly.

"Hikiki, what are you doing?! What about-?" Tamama heard him whisper quietly.

"I don't care; I'm not setting aside our relationship for that jerk anymore," Hikiki whispered back, kissing him again. Raido appeared confused, but he didn't seem shy about kissing her back. Tamama shifted his eyes over at Kururu; he had frozen in mid-type. He peered over his shoulder at the couple. He snapped his attention back at the computer screen; he appeared angrier than before. Although, Kururu wasn't the only one disturbed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Keroro gagged, "Guys? Hello? Stop it. That doesn't look right. There are children in the room," he said, pointing over at Tamama. The tadpole laughed. He could live with this.

"What? You mean yourself, Gunso-san?" he asked. Keroro's face reddened.

"N-No! I mean you and Ambercrombie! Yo! Raido! Hikiki! Think of Ambercrombie! He's so young! Don't scar him with that mature-ness of yours!" he demanded. Raido and Hikiki separated for a moment.

"Oh, come on, Gunso, you don't think Ambercrombie has a pretty girlfriend of his own? Well, not one as pretty as this one here…" Raido crooned, stroking Hikiki's cheek. She blushed and giggled, kissing him again.

"Okay, I wasn't joking when I told you both to stop it. You're in the Keroro Platoon's headquarters, and as the leader, I insist that you stop it," Keroro said agitatedly. Raido and Hikiki finally separated and chuckled, rolling their eyes.

"You're wrong, Raido…" Kururu snarled. The four looked over at him.

"Excuse me?" Raido asked. Kururu turned the chair around to face him angrily.

"You said she was pretty… you're understating," he snarled, his face red with fury and embarrassment.

"Ooooh, this is gonna be good!" Keroro grinned, gathering his Gunpla parts and putting them in a pile behind him.

"Kururu, please… don't…" Hikiki warned through gritted teeth. Raido handed Ambercrombie to Keroro and got up, going to Kururu.

"Look, what is your problem? You knew that I liked Hikiki since the day I mentioned her to you. Why haven't you been such a jerk to me until the day we started dating?" he snarled.

"You weren't a threat until then," Kururu frowned.

"Well, glad to see that this is what our friendship is going to be; you showing a real Tamama "Jealousy" freak-out on me and me not willing to slam one back in your face," Raido barked. Kururu got out of chair and shoved Raido.

"Don't you DARE compare me to him!" he snarled. Tamama felt offended by this. Raido frowned and shoved Kururu back.

"Why not?! You guys are both my friends! You should start acting like it!" Raido barked. Kururu shoved Raido again.

"Maybe you AREN'T my friend!" he yelled.

"Kururu!" Hikiki gasped.

"Fine, if you want to be another Gamama, then you can win that over EASY!" Raido screamed, shoving Kururu again.

"Raido! Stop it!" Hikiki yelled. Raido started to turn around and face her but Kururu shoved him over and he fell to the floor. Raido got up angrily shoved Kururu into the wall. It appeared to be more force than intended. Raido clapped his hands over his mouth.

"Kururu! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-!!" he started. Kururu frowned and pulled out two large guns.

"Shut up! You don't hit someone intentionally and then apologize, pansy! Let's settle this like men!" he roared. Raido frowned.

"FINE!"

"Ooh! Catfight! Reowr!" Keroro exclaimed. Raido began to charge up his deathblow and Kururu readied his fingers on the triggers to his guns.

"STOP IT, BOTH OF YOU!" Hikiki screamed. She got between them both and shoved them both back.

"You stop it!" she yelled at Raido, "You shut up!" she yelled at Kururu.

"Hikiki, I'm through listening to you! Your boyfriend's been asking for this for-" Kururu started rambling. Hikiki abruptly whipped his glasses off and flung them across the room.

"Go fetch," she snarled. Kururu flailed his arms around helplessly, trying to find his glasses and muttering, "Megane, Megane, Megane…"

"Sorry, Hiki-chan. I guess some of us take things a little too seriously…" Raido hissed, glaring at Kururu as he wobbled around the room in search of his glasses. Hikiki shot an angry look at him.

"Well, you weren't exactly helping anything!" she snapped. Raido sweatdropped and went back to his model airplane, taking Ambercrombie back from Keroro.

"Jeez, Hikiki, why'd you have to break that up…?" Keroro asked with disappointment.

"Your intelligence officer doesn't need any more brain damage," Hikiki snorted, crossing her arms coldly. Kururu finally located his glasses and donned them. He glared at Hikiki a moment before turning around and going back to the computer.

Raido twiddled with Ambercrombie's antennae a bit quietly. Hikiki continued to stand with her arms crossed and her face ducked. Kururu typed quietly. Keroro just looked around at the three worriedly. Tamama sighed. The mood in the room was totally contrasted from when he had first come in; it had gone from friendly to spiteful.

Abruptly, the air vent burst open and Giroro and Dororo fell in.

"Hello, everybody!" Dororo smiled sweetly.

"Shut up," Kururu snarled. Dororo's trauma switch was triggered and he walked over to the corner slowly, where he cowered a bit.

"Well, look who's a crab apple already this morning," Giroro commented, "How is everything for the rest of you?"

"Meh…" Raido replied quietly. Hikiki huffed and walked over to Dororo, stroking his head comfortingly. Keroro didn't reply. Tamama rolled his eyes at them.

"Probably crab apples," he replied.

Raido looked over at him.

"What is a crab apple anyway…?" he asked.

"I have no idea. I think it's an apple that tastes like a crab," Tamama shrugged.

"No, idiots, it's an apple that's sour," Kururu spat. Raido frowned.

"Well, I'm sorry we can't all have abnormally high IQs," he hissed.

"Shut up or I'll release the hounds," Kururu said, gesturing at a button on the keyboard. Raido sweatdropped.

"Hounds…? As in… dogs…?" he stuttered. Kururu grinned a roguish grin.

"Aw, are you scared of dogs?" he asked, "That makes me want to press the button even more!" Raido cupped his hands over Ambercrombie and cowered behind a model airplane box.

"Don't…" he murmured. Kururu's smile was smug. He pressed the button.

"Pochito!" he announced. The computer made the sound effect of a dog barking. Raido yelped and hid behind Keroro. Kururu continued to press the button, making Raido freak out even more. Finally, Hikiki stormed up to him, whipped off his glasses again, and hid them up on a high shelf.

"Fetch!" she commanded. Kururu scuttled around the floor, looking for his glasses. Hikiki went over to Raido and gave him a comforting hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Okaaaay, I'm not even going to ask," Keroro said. Hikiki stroked Raido's head as he settled down. Kururu donned another random pair of glasses and glared at him.

"It's no wonder you lost so easily to Gamama," Kururu said. Raido restrained himself from exploding.

"That's none of your business," he snarled.

"Whatever; you're scared of a dog bark and you can't manage to save your friends. Even Dororo can do that. Does that make you overly pathetic?"

"Hey!" Dororo whimpered, his trauma switch returning.

"Leave Dororo out of this, alright? Why do you have to be such a jerk?" Hikiki barked.

"You could've done a better job at picking out boyfriends, Hikiki," Kururu replied quietly, "Ones that don't freak out over a dog and ones that don't beat you." Raido looked abruptly at him.

"I DON'T BEAT HER!" he screamed, "I SWEAR I WON'T FORGIVE YOU FOR THAT COMMENT!" Hikiki put a hand on his shoulder.

"He's not talking about you, he's talking about Gamama…" she said quietly. Raido stared at her.

"I'm… not your first boyfriend… am I?" he asked, growing slightly upset. Hikiki looked at him.

"Well… you are. It's just… I was once looked at in a way that I didn't want to be looked at by my old leader," she said. Raido's eyes widened.

"What did he do to you…?" he asked.

"He tried to rape her, what else?" Kururu replied. Raido frowned.

"I asked Hikiki, not you. I don't care if you found this all out from her diary, I want to hear it from her tongue," he said.

"Whatever."

"Well, Kururu speaks the truth. I didn't want to tell you about it because I knew you'd get upset. After seeing the way Daikiki reacted when he came in to rescue me, I knew you'd take it harder…" Hikiki said quietly.

"Well, where the heck were your other two so-called friends during all this?!" Keroro asked. Hikiki snapped a glare at him.

"My practical brothers were on the other side of the ship, probably having nightmares, dingbat! Don't you EVER call them that again!" she roared.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry!" Keroro panicked.

"Hikiki… I wanted you to be able to tell me these kinds of things. I tell you everything… it only makes me wonder what kinds of things you DON'T tell me," Raido said quietly, fiddling with Ambercrombie's antennae again. Tamama immediately exchanged a glance with Hikiki, who afterwards glanced at Kururu.

"I'm sure it's nothing too big!" Tamama sweatdropped, "I mean, Hikiki wouldn't dare keep anything too important from you!" Hikiki sweatdropped and glared at him.

"Yeah… because if I were, then Tamama would have made me feel like a horrible person and I'd have to leave the room and cry!" she said through gritted teeth. Tamama took the hint.

"Yeah… I would have to go and beat myself with a hammer…" Tamama said quietly.

"Yeah, but I'm sure he wouldn't have meant it…" Hikiki said calmly. Tamama felt relieved.

"Yeah, so I would've stayed right here…" he smiled. Raido looked back and forth between them.

"What the heck is going on here?!" he asked.

"We're messing with your head, hon, relax," Hikiki said, stroking his head.

"Okay then… getting back to Gamama, how did he approach you with all that?" Keroro asked curiously.

"Well, 'Nozizi'," Hikiki started, "It didn't take long. I was cleaning up the kitchen; he came in and started going on about my duties. He got really quiet after awhile so I assumed he left. Then, before I knew it, he was trying to kiss me. I freaked out and screamed for help before he tried anything else and then Daikiki came in and saved me. However, he got beat up in the process and I was sent into a pretty bad trauma switch afterwards."

"Aw. That's horrible…" Keroro said.

"I know…" Hikiki said. Keroro burst out into sobs.

"That poor Loch Ness Monster! He never had a chance!" he cried. The others stared at him. Hikiki blinked.

"I'm… glad you were paying attention…" she said with a slight frown.

"I'm surprised you weren't even a little bothered by telling us all of that…" Giroro said. Hikiki shrugged.

"It happened over a year ago… I'm over it. I'm in good hands now," she said, taking Raido's hand, "But I do know this, out of all the guys that have ever had a crush on me, that was by far the most disturbing one yet." Kururu stopped typing and looked over at her.

"Wh-What did you just say…?" he asked. Hikiki cocked her head.

"Out of all the guys that have ever had a crush on me, Gamama was by far the most disturbing one yet," she repeated. Kururu stared at her awhile. Tamama knew exactly what was going through his head. So did Keroro.

"So are you saying that Kururu isn't the most disturbing?" he asked. Hikiki looked at him and then at Kururu.

"Yes," she replied, "Kururu's very sweet." Kururu blushed severely and looked back at his computer screen quickly.

"…okay, Hikiki, if you say so…" Giroro blinked. Raido appeared to be bothered by Hikiki's comment, but he hid it from her rather well.

"Hik… Hikiki is very affectionate. She does a good job of making sure we're all happy…" he said. Hikiki smiled and kissed him on the cheek. Raido was a bit happier now. His own remark was well-proven.

"Nothing changes," Kururu said quietly, "We're still not friends." Raido frowned.

"If it's because you think I'm weak…" he started.

"We could always train you!" Keroro smiled. Raido looked over at him.

"Really? You would do that?" he asked.

"But of course! I'm sure Giroro wouldn't object to that, right?" Keroro asked, looking up at Giroro.

"Why would I?" Giroro asked, "Training isn't pointless like Gunpla building." Keroro frowned and hugged his precious Gunpla.

"Bite me," he hissed.

"Never," Giroro shot.

"I'd be glad to get some training," Raido smiled, "Maybe this way I can get my friends back."

"Great, start by coming over at five in the morning tomorrow. We'll hold some target practicing for your deathblow," Keroro said. Raido sweatdropped.

"Yeah… about that…" he said quietly, "I don't really use my deathblow a lot for a reason…"

"Aren't you doing this to prove to Kururu and Hikiki that you aren't a pansy?" Keroro asked.

"I know he's not!" Hikiki snapped.

"Well… I guess so…" Raido replied hesitantly.

"So, what do you have to lose? Five o' clock! Tomorrow morning!" Keroro demanded. Raido smiled a little.

"Alright, I'll be there."


	11. Raido, Past the Point of No Return

**Keroro Gunso**

**Raido – Past the Point of No Return …de arimasu**

Tamama walked into the training room curiously. Keroro had called him in early that morning. He said he wanted Tamama to see something. Giroro, Kururu, Dororo, and Hikiki were gathered around at the training room. As Tamama walked up to him, Keroro spoke.

"Glad you could make it," he said.

"Sure thing, Gunso-san," Tamama replied, "What was it you wanted to show me?" Keroro was quiet for a moment.

"It's about Raido…" he said.

"Raido-san? Why? What's wrong?"

Keroro turned over to Kururu, who sat at the controls.

"Scenario 6, Level 7," he called.

"Kukuku, roger that, Leader," Kururu replied, pushing back two levers. Tamama knew instantly what this was. It was Training. He looked towards the glass window. Raido stood in the middle of the empty room. As the machine worked, the empty room began to pixelize and after its transformation, it was completely different.

The scene was a dark cave; Raido stood alone at one end, staring at an opening at the other. Tamama watched closely at the scene. Almost abruptly, Gamama flew from out of the opening; Tamama yelped, almost forgetting that the scenario was fictional for training. Before the dark grey frog could attack, something seemed to snap inside of Raido.

"RAIDO IMPACT!" he screamed, blasting his deathblow quickly at the Gamama replica. The replica fizzed and disappeared. The room went back to normal.

Tamama gaped at Raido.

"N-No way… that was so fast…" he stammered.

"And for level seven… it's phenomenal," Keroro added. Tamama stared at his friend. He seemed somewhat angered. It reminded Tamama of a slightly mild version of Eddodo.

"Is he okay…?" he asked.

"Oh, he'll be fine, he did this with levels one through six," Giroro replied. Tamama looked back at his other friends. Hikiki also didn't seem to be comfortable with the situation with Raido.

"Should we set up a level eight?" Kururu asked.

"No!" Hikiki yelped.

"Aw, why not? He's on a roll!" Keroro exclaimed. Hikiki shook her head.

"Don't you understand? Raido doesn't like to use his deathblow! You're forcing him upon it!" she yelled. She didn't seem very angry. It was more like she was scared.

"But, Hikiki-" Keroro protested.

"She said no, Leader," Kururu said defensively. Keroro seemed startled by the interruption.

"Alright… alright…" he murmured. Hikiki looked up towards Kururu.

"Thank you, Kururu," she said quietly. Kururu blushed and nodded.

"Okay, that was sick," Keroro gagged, "You wouldn't happen to be two-timing with Raido and Kururu would you, Hikiki?" Hikiki snapped a furious glare at Keroro and slapped him over the head.

"Shut up, dingbat!" she snarled, blushing very slightly. Kururu blushed a bit and looked away, pressing a button on the controls and speaking into the intercom.

"Raido, come on out and take a break," he called, pressing another button and allowing Raido to exit the room. Raido seemed to snap out of his anger as he spoke.

"Uh, okay," he replied. He walked out of the room, immediately being greeted by Hikiki and Keroro. Hikiki threw her arms around him.

"That was a great job, Raido!" Keroro smiled, "I think you'd be ready for any battle!" Raido smiled a modest smile.

"Thanks, Gunso," he replied. He looked down at Hikiki who was trembling slightly, "Are you alright, Hiki-chan…?"

"Am I okay?" Hikiki repeated, "No! The question is, are you?!"

"Wha-?! Hiki-chan, what are you talking about?!" Raido asked with a startled look. Hikiki let go of him and choked on a sob.

"The fact that you don't know frightens me worse!" she cried, running out of the training room.

"H-Hiki-chan…?" Raido stammered.

"Females. They just overreact to every little detail, eh, Raido?" Keroro asked. Raido glared over at him.

"Don't stereotype her, you sexist!" he snarled. Keroro backed off quickly.

"Hey, hey! I was kidding! No need to get so testy!" he stammered.

"I'M NOT GETTING TESTY!" Raido yelled.

"Raido! Relax!" Giroro said quickly.

"SHUT UP!" Raido snarled. He settled down a bit and stormed out of the room.

"Oh my Kero… I've never seen him get so defensive over Hikiki before…" Keroro muttered.

"Perhaps she had a point to stop the training when she did," Kururu said, "We all know that Raido only uses his deathblow out of pure rage. Perhaps the fact that we forced him into it put him a bad position."

"Bad position…? How could Hikiki tell…?" Keroro asked. Kururu looked over at him.

"Hiki-chan looks after her friends well. She tends to notice details that others wouldn't…" He looked away from Keroro and back at his computer, "That's… what makes her all the better…"

"Okay, stop being such a weirdo and hitting on Raido-san's girlfriend," Keroro gagged. Kururu blushed and ducked his head.

"Do you think we've done any real damage…?" Tamama asked nervously.

"Nah, he'll settle down eventually," Keroro replied, "Now, with that said, it's about time for me to put together that new Gunpla!"

"Idiot! What about Raido and Hikiki?!" Giroro barked.

"They'll be okay, we know them well," Keroro replied nonchalantly.

That afternoon, as the Keroro Platoon sat together, trying to come up with another plan, Raido walked into the room. Keroro immediately jumped up.

"Raido-san!" he said nervously. Raido looked over at him. "Uh, hey, I was really only kidding about that earlier, I didn't mean to offend you!" Raido cocked his head.

"Uh… I forgive you… I guess?" he asked. Keroro blinked.

"Huh…?" he asked.

"Well, to be honest, I have no idea what you're talking about," Raido sweatdropped with a smile. The others gazed at him in shock.

"You mean… you have no idea what happened this morning?!" Giroro asked. Raido sat thoughtfully.

"Well… I got up this morning, came here from Masaru-dono's house, was asked by you guys to practice my deathblow a bit… and yeah, everything from there is a total blackout!" he explained.

"What about when you totally flipped out on Gunso-san for joking around with you?!" Tamama barked. Raido looked surprised.

"What?! I wouldn't do something like that! I always know when you guys are kidding! I mean, c'mon! You guys are my friends, right?" he asked. Giroro apparently had enough.

"Quit playing dumb! You know what we're talking about!" he snarled. Raido gave him a freaked out stare.

"Jeez! If I didn't know better, I'd say you guys are the ones flipping out on me! Augh, jeez, where's Hikiki? She can back me up," he said.

"Raido-dono… we haven't seen Hiki-chan since she left the training room this morning," Dororo said quietly. Raido snapped a sudden furious glare at Dororo.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL HER?!" he snarled. Dororo backed off against the wall quickly.

"Raido-dono?! What's the matter with you?!" he panicked.

"Maybe you can explain to me why exactly you're using my pet name for her? Do you have feelings for her as well?!" Raido hissed. Kururu sweatdropped and ducked behind Giroro.

"Rai- WHAT?! NO!" Dororo insisted. Suddenly, Raido seemed to settle down. He examined the faces of all five.

"What? What's going on?" he asked.

"Raido, how can you not know?!" Keroro asked.

"Why would I?" Raido asked.

"STOP PLAYING STUPID!" Giroro barked. Raido turned angry again.

"WHY DON'T YOU MAKE YOUR FACE NOT STUPID!" he screamed.

"There! You did it again!" Tamama pointed out. Raido turned around to face him. He was calm.

"What? What did I do?!" he asked. Kururu stepped out from behind Giroro.

"He seems to be going through some sort of split personality phase… and whenever he comes back to himself, he forgets everything from beforehand…" he observed.

"What are you rambling about? I have a great memory! And I don't have a split personality!" Raido insisted. Kururu raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really…?" he asked.

"Yeah, really!"

"So what if I told you… I made out with Hiki-chan the day after you two hooked up?!" Kururu announced. Raido froze with a shocked expression.

"OH MY-!!" Keroro gacked.

"YOU'RE LYING!" Dororo gasped.

"Um… not really. Remember…? I was a witness…?" Tamama muttered.

"YOU (!?$#)!!" Raido shrieked even louder than before.

"Man, I can't even pay attention to Raido anymore!" Giroro gagged, "Not when I have the odd image in my head that you… AUGH!! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! AUGH!"

"Just… one thing I gotta ask, Kururu…" Keroro asked, a disgusted look on his face.

"Yes, Leader?" Kururu asked. Suddenly, Keroro's expression changed to an eager grin.

"How was it?!" he asked excitedly.

"WHAT THE HECK, MAN?!" Giroro gasped.

"Really quite pleasant, actually," Kururu replied, adjusting his glasses higher up in his face, "It lasted awhile. She has very soft hands… very warm cheeks… tender lips…"

"Woo! Ya hear that, Giroro?! Our little Kururu's growing up! Whoop! There it is!" Keroro grinned, swinging his arms and hips around excitedly.

"OH MY DOG, SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!!!" Giroro howled, covering his ears and writhing around on the floor in pain. Dororo covered his own ears.

"NO! NO I DON'T WANT TO KNOW THIS!" he yelped. Just because of how his comrades were reacting to the information that he already knew, Tamama began to laugh.

"What's so funny, Tamama?" Raido asked with a smile. Everyone fell silent.

"Tell me you did NOT just forget what Kururu just told you…" Giroro blinked. Raido sweatdropped.

"He told me something…? Was it weird…?" he asked.

"YOU ARE SUCH AN IDIOT! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DON'T REMEMBER!" Giroro shrieked.

"I'm sorry!" Raido apologized, "What did he say?!" Keroro came up to him quickly with a grin.

"It'll make you REEEEEEALLY mad!" he grinned. Raido cocked his head.

"Go on…" he said. Keroro stepped back and shoved Kururu up. Kururu sweatdropped.

"Eh… that's what she said," he said with a nervous smile. Raido grinned.

"Bwajajajajaja! Why would that make me mad?" he asked with a friendly smile.

"What was that?!" Tamama asked. Raido cocked his head.

"What was what…?" he asked.

"That laugh! That isn't your laugh!" Keroro exclaimed.

"I don't know what you're talking-" Raido started.

"I'VE HAD JUST ABOUT ENOUGH OF THIS!" Giroro shouted, grabbing out a gun and aiming it at Raido, "WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH RAIDO?!"

"Giroro…?!" Raido insisted nervously, "Why are you-?"

Suddenly, there was a loud scream from upstairs. All of them immediately ignored the current situation and shot out of the room. When they got upstairs, they found Hikiki and the four members of the Gamama Platoon. Hikiki was tied up in a spring, another copy of one of Kururu's inventions.

"Hiki-chan!" the six gasped. Gamama whirled around to face them.

"You're STILL alive?!" he snarled. Raido's anger came back.

"LET HER GO!" he yelled, bolting towards the dark grey frog. Gamama threw a small round capsule at Raido and it broke, releasing a black powder into Raido's eyes. Raido shrieked and fell to the floor, rubbing at his eyes.

"Raido, no!" Hikiki gasped.

"Shut up!" Gamama barked, striking her across the face. Raido heard the attack and blasted his deathblow out at random, still blinded from the powder. Every time he blasted one, it would miss and blast something in the room. Keroro, Gamama, and their Platoons both took cover.

"Fall back, Platoon!" Gamama ordered.

"Hai, Lieutenant!" Daikiki, Eddodo, and Nozizi replied nervously, grabbing Hikiki and following Gamama back out of the house. Finally, Raido managed to open his eyes.

"HIKIKI, NO!" he gasped. He jumped up and tore after them, grabbing his skateboard on the way out.

"C'mon, we've got to help!" Keroro exclaimed, running after them.

The Gamama Platoon quickly boarded their ship and started to take off.

"RAIDO IMPACT!" Raido yelled, blasting one of the wings as it got up to depart. It still rose up, but it couldn't rise very far. However, it could go fast. It sped off down the road. Raido jolted after them on his skateboard.

"Oh no… how are we supposed to catch up with them now…?" Keroro asked.

"Kukuku! Not to worry!" Kururu exclaimed, pulling out a button and pressing it, "Pochito!" Out of nowhere, the Keroro Platoon's hovering scooters appeared before them.

"The Teleporter! Brilliant!" Keroro smiled, "Alright, let's go!" The five boarded their scooters and chased after Raido.

As they caught up, Tamama began to notice that the ship was just slightly faster than an airplane. Raido was catching up to them fast. In spite of everything going on; he smiled.

"I'm trying to prove I'm faster," he remembered Raido telling them, "Back on Planet Keron there was nothing I knew to be faster than me on wheels. When I first saw that plane when I came to Pekopon, I was convinced I was going to beat it. But I've never been successful."

"Raido-senpai…" Tamama smiled. Raido managed to zoom in front of the ship. He turned backwards on his skateboard and took aim.

"RAIDO IMPACT!" he screamed, blasting a powerful shot towards the front of the ship. The blast hit the ship directly in the center. There was a loud explosion and the ship began to crash-land. A white light shrouded the ship and it disappeared.

"No! What's going on?!" Tamama gasped. Kururu pulled out another device.

"That was a beam from the Teleporter," he replied, "With this, I can track the coordinates to where they teleported to." He pressed a button and held it in the air. The device beeped a few times. Kururu checked it.

"They seem to be about thirty miles from here. They're in a mountainous area," he announced, "Hey, Raido!" Raido looked back towards the Platoon. He frowned and slowed down enough to ride alongside them.

"Some friends you guys are! You just let them take her!" he snapped.

"Yeah, yeah, and in a second you won't even remember that you just said that," Kururu sighed, pressing buttons on his own Transporter. Raido cocked his head.

"Said what?" he asked.

"I rest my case," Kururu said, rolling his eyes, "Everybody hang on."

"Okay!" Keroro said loudly, grabbing onto Kururu.

"WHAT THE HECK, MAN?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GET OFF!" Kururu yelled, losing balance and grabbing Tamama's handlebars to support himself. Tamama felt his balance give out and he started to fall, but he grabbed Dororo's scooter out of survival instinct. Dororo lost balance and caught onto Giroro's scooter, who also lost balance and grabbed onto the front of Raido's skateboard, who started to flip forward from the weight on the front of his board and grabbed onto Keroro's scooter. Finally, a white light flashed around them. They all screamed as they zoomed through the air at light speed.

The light faded and all six piled on top of each other in a cave. They all groaned and had at least someone's elbow in their side.

"Okay…" Keroro started, "Now I know what you're all thinking… but Kururu's the one who said 'Everybody hang on,' so if you're going to yell at anyone, let it be him."

"I'm not even going to start arguing with you! It's pointless!" Giroro said angrily. Raido broke away from the pile and looked around the cave.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" he shouted. His voice echoed throughout the cave.

"Raido, he's probably not here," Kururu said, breaking free of the jumbled up pile of Keronians. Raido scanned the area a bit and then looked to a darker section.

"Just relax, alright? I'll recalculate the coordinates," Kururu told him. Raido turned around slowly. He stayed that way. Suddenly, Gamama jumped from the darkness towards Raido with a gun. But he was ready for him. Raido whirled around quickly and screamed, "RAIDO IMPACT!" blasting a fair-sized deathblow at Gamama. It reminded Tamama of… the practice room.

Gamama hit the floor and sparked slightly.

"Nice hit, Raido!" Keroro grinned. Raido went to Gamama and grabbed him up by the collar of his cape.

"Where is she…?" he snarled. Gamama frowned.

"Pah!" he growled, tripping Raido. Raido hit the ground and grew angrier. Gamama got up and aimed the gun at him, "What does she matter to you? Her life is perfectly safe, which is impossible to say for yours."

"She means everything to me, and the only one she's really safe with is me!" Raido snarled. Keroro started to move to help Raido, but Gamama shot at his feet. They all panicked a little; Dororo flew up towards the ceiling and never came back down. Tamama looked up at him, he stood almost like a bat against it; he took out a shuriken.

"I don't know why you insist upon dragging around your pathetic little Platoon with you, all they do is get in the way," Gamama hissed.

"They aren't my Platoon," Raido hissed, "It's Keroro's Platoon. And as far as I know, Keroro's a better leader than you will EVER be!" Keroro smiled a flattered smile, but it didn't last long.

"OH! That was a real big slam for an insult! HOO!" Giroro gasped. Keroro gave him an exasperated stare.

"Thank you, dear friend," he muttered.

"Well, whatever they are to you, they won't last long," Gamama said. Suddenly, Dororo's shuriken dropped to the floor and Dororo went sliding on his face across the cave floor.

"Dororo!" Raido gasped.

"You okay, boss? The guy was aiming a shuriken at you," a voice said. Tamama looked up at it, it was Nozizi. He was standing on the ceiling.

"Private!" Gamama barked, "I told you to wait inside the ship! And I've also told you about that Sticky foot/hand condition of yours!"

"Aw, but Lieutenant, I wanted to see what was going to happen! Besides, if it weren't for my sticky foot condition, I wouldn't have caught that ninja guy, and you'd have a sharp thing in your brain!" Nozizi insisted.

"I've had enough of your disobedience!" Gamama snarled, aiming the gun at Nozizi and firing. The bullet struck Nozizi in the leg; he screeched and fell off the ceiling.

"NOZIZI!" Raido screamed. Nozizi cried and held his leg painfully. Gamama aimed the gun at the helpless tadpole as he lay on the cave floor.

"I will end the pain, don't you worry," he snarled. Raido jumped to his feet and rammed into Gamama before he could fire.

"BACK OFF, YOU HEARTLESS MONSTER!" he shrieked.

"Well, look who's growing a sense of pure hatred!" Gamama exclaimed. He got up, "That's right, let it take over you. If by chance, you are willing to let it take over… we need a stronger member of our Platoon. Think about this… you'll finally be back with all of your friends-"

"SHUT UP, I WOULDN'T LET MY FRIENDS STAY WITH YOU FOR ALL THE MONEY IN THE UNIVERSE!" Raido shouted. Gamama frowned.

"So be it," he snarled pointing the gun at Raido.

Behind him, Eddodo, Daikiki, and Hikiki ran to him.

"NOZIZI!" Daikiki screamed, going down to his friend and lifting him up off the floor, "Buddy?! Are you okay?!"

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Hikiki screamed, jumping Gamama in attempt to pry the gun away. Eddodo joined in with Hikiki. Gamama threw both of them off roughly against the cave floor. Eddodo was a bit too hurt to get up right away. Hikiki immediately rose up to attack again. Gamama pointed the gun at her and pulled the trigger. Hikiki screamed as a bullet hit her in the shoulder and she fell to the floor.

"HIKIKI!" Raido and Kururu gasped. Kururu ran to her quickly.

Hikiki's injury set off Raido's anger to the extreme. He began to store a large amount of energy to unleash in a deathblow, but Gamama was quicker and punched him into the wall. He flopped down limply against the cave floor.

"RAIDO!" Tamama shrieked. Gamama pointed the gun at the red Keronian, awaiting a sign of life. Raido didn't move for a long time. He just sat there: motionless.

"Raido… no…" Hikiki whispered, her voice breathless as an anxiety attack forced its way towards her. She cried softly; Kururu held her hand comfortingly.

"NO!" Keroro cried. He dropped to his knees and let tears fall. Gamama smirked and lowered the gun.

"Looks like it's all over now," he cackled, "So much for the Immortal." He turned towards the two Platoons,

"This goes to show you what you have to go through to achieve real goals. None of this 'Spark of Inspiration' …it's all a myth. If you have to kill a man to win, then so be it! Another's life is a small price to pay." Tamama gazed at Raido and Gamama disbelievingly. It couldn't be over… could it? He couldn't stand anything any longer; he let tears fall down his face, realizing that his own friend's life had met its end… or so he thought.

As he stared at his friend's body, he noticed something strange; Raido's body darkened in color. He was now a dark red. Very slowly, he stood up as Gamama had his back to him. Tamama couldn't help but smile. But it was not to last.

"What are you all staring at?!" Gamama spat. He turned around towards Raido and he looked surprised, "WHAT?!"

"Yeah, Raido's a real boomerang, and now he's going to kick your butt!" Keroro smiled.

"That's my boy…" Hikiki smiled quietly. Raido's face was ducked, shadowed. He just stood there. Gamama frowned and aimed his gun at Raido, firing twice. Raido reached out with his hands and caught the bullets with his fingertips. Gamama sweatdropped and stepped back nervously. Raido threw the bullets to the ground and walked towards Gamama. Tamama was surprised by the sudden strength that Raido seemed to possess. Hikiki looked up at him as he walked past her and Kururu and stopped smiling. That's when Tamama knew that the situation had turned from good to horrible.

"Raido…?" he asked quietly. Raido stopped and stood in one place for awhile. Slowly he turned his head towards the Platoons, and exposed his eyes. They were red. He bared sharp fangs. Tamama, the closest one to Raido, backed off quickly. Raido turned back towards Gamama and continued walking.

"What… what's happening to him…?" Daikiki asked nervously. They turned towards Kururu. He looked at them helplessly.

"Uh, I-I don't… know…" he muttered. Giroro grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him violently.

"NOW IS NOT A GOOD TIME TO NOT KNOW!" he yelled. Hikiki summoned enough strength to kick Giroro in the leg.

"He doesn't know, dingbat, and neither do we! Get over it!" she rasped. Giroro sweatdropped and let Kururu go.

"Maybe you were right, Gamama…" Raido hissed, "Letting hatred take over you… the power… amazing." Gamama pointed the gun at him again. Raido looked at it and took it in one hand, crushing it. He grabbed Gamama by the cape collar and threw him roughly across the cave.

"Raido! I know what he's done to you is bad, but you've got to settle down!" Keroro said, going to him carefully. Raido grabbed Keroro's arm and threw him to the ground. Tamama felt his split personality get the better of him.

"NOW YOU MUST PAY!" he shrieked, storing energy for a deathblow. Raido turned towards him and blasted three deathblows at once without having to store up anything. Tamama felt the electricity channel through his body; it hurt worse than anything he had ever felt before. His legs gave out and he collapsed on the cold cave floor. As he lay there, he found it difficult to breathe. For awhile, the only thing he could hear was his own heartbeat; racing as it settled down from the electrocution. He finally managed to inhale after having the wind knocked out of him and his hearing came back. He struggled to sit himself up.

"Tamama! Are you alright?! Can you hear me?!" he heard Keroro call.

"H-Hai, Gunso-san," Tamama managed to reply. Gamama got to his feet a bit faster and pulled out another gun, aiming at Raido. Raido turned towards him quickly and blasted five deathblows at once. The gun shattered and Gamama was electrocuted. Tamama almost felt a sympathy pain for him.

"Is that all you weaklings can throw at me?!" Raido barked, "Worthless! All of you!" Gamama stood up slowly and took out yet another gun. Raido rolled his now red eyes and destroyed it quickly, "Do you really think that can help you? Waste of time! You can't take me down with a weapon as fragile as tissue paper! Your efforts are useless. In fact, it's almost humorous. Bwajajajajaja!"

Gamama stared at him awhile before a small smirk showed. Raido glared at him.

"Does something humor you as well?" he hissed. Gamama's smirk was now more apparent. He opened his mouth and a ball of black electricity began to form.

"GAMAMA IMPACT!" he roared. Raido stepped back fearfully.

"NO WAY!" he shrieked. Gamama blasted the deathblow; Raido dodged it quickly. Gamama blasted three more times. Raido dodged all three barely. Finally Gamama blasted one that Raido couldn't avoid. He hit the cave wall and fell to the floor, sparking black lightning. He tried to lift himself up again but he was too weak.

Hikiki struggled to her feet. Kururu made a grab for her hand to pull her back, but she avoided it and ran to Raido as quickly as her strength would allow her.

'Raido! Are you okay?!" she asked.

"Hikiki, get away from him!" Keroro warned her.

"He's dangerous!" Kururu told her. Hikiki ignored them. She knelt beside him and looked him over.

"Raido…? Can you hear me…?"she said quietly. Raido looked up at her angrily. He made a motion as if to strike her, but he passed out, breathing heavily. Kururu got up and went to her.

"Hiki-chan, there's nothing you can do for him. I think he's gone into an irreversible phase," he said quietly, "Come." He tried to lead her away from him, but she shoved him away roughly. "Hikiki, I don't know how much clearer I can make this! Raido does not know who we are anymore; he will KILL you! He is past the point of no return! As far as we know, there is no way we can bring him back! It's this or death!" he told her. Hikiki shook her head in denial.

"NO! IT CAN'T BE TRUE!" she yelled.

"HIKIKI, IT'S TIME TO FACE THE FACTS! RAIDO IS GONE AND HE'S NEVER COMING BACK!" Kururu yelled back.

"AND YOU WONDER WHY I CHOSE HIM OVER YOU!" Hikiki screamed back. Kururu did not reply. He stood back quietly. Tamama began to feel a bit sorry for Kururu. Suddenly, Raido's heavy breathing stopped altogether.

"Raido…?" Hikiki asked quietly, tears tracking down her face, "Please wake up…" Raido didn't do as much as stir. Hikiki shuddered as she cried, a few tears dripping from her cheeks onto Raido. Kururu stepped back towards her, kneeling beside her, and putting his arms around her. She threw her arms around him and held him tightly, sobbing on his shoulder. She began bawling somewhat incoherent apologies to Kururu and Raido's name a few times. Kururu stroked her head and held her tighter.

"I'm sorry, Hiki-chan… if there was anything I could do…" Tamama heard him whisper. It was amazing; Tamama had never heard words as kind as those ever leave Kururu's mouth.

Gamama smirked again and pulled out yet another gun (he must keep these things in his butt or something… *rolls eyes and sighs*) and began to approach them. Tamama tried to get up to hold him back, but he couldn't get up. Suddenly, he felt someone help him to his feet. He turned around to see Eddodo.

"Uhm… thanks…" Tamama said quietly. Eddodo smiled slightly.

"You Raido friend. Raido friend… friend to Eddodo," he said. Tamama felt a small smile force its way onto his face.

Gamama had gotten rather close with the gun. Tamama frowned at him and he and Eddodo got between Gamama and Raido.

"Back off," Tamama snarled. Gamama aimed the gun at him.

"You're going to fight me? Hah! You and what army?" he asked. Eddodo grabbed the gun and threw it to the ground. Tamama smiled smugly.

"Yours, desu," he replied.

"Hey, look!" Dororo exclaimed. Tamama turned around and looked over at Raido. His body color began to change back to normal. Hikiki let go of Kururu and gazed at Raido hopefully. Very faintly, Tamama heard Raido begin to breathe and grunt slightly as he stirred. He opened his eyes; they were back to their original sparkling black. He looked around at everyone. He finally seemed to remember what he had just gone through.

"Is everyone alright…?" he asked. Hikiki smiled and wrapped her arms around him, kissing his face.

"Raido… I knew you would come back," she smiled, tears of joy falling from her eyes onto Raido's cheeks. Raido smiled and stroked her cheek.

"You've always been my angel… you're a pretty angel," he replied. Hikiki blushed.

"Well, you had us all 'pretty' worried," Kururu scolded. Raido looked up at him and smiled.

"Heh, yeah…?" he asked. Kururu nodded.

"Mmhmm…" he replied testily, then with a slight smile and motioning towards the others behind them, "But they're glad you're okay." Raido chuckled.

"Ah, I always knew you had a soft spot, Kururu," he smiled.

"What?! Me?! No! Me?! Soft?! Pfft!! NO!" Kururu denied. Hikiki smiled and put her hand on his shoulder.

"It's not just me, you have a soft spot for both of us," she said. Kururu blushed. Keroro coughed a bit. Tamama looked over at him and so did Kururu. Keroro held up two thumbs and wore a strange grin. Kururu blushed a deeper red. Tamama rolled his eyes and looked back at Raido.

He suddenly felt someone shove him to the floor. He looked up as Gamama stormed past him. He grabbed Hikiki by the wrist and threw her into Kururu.

"HIKIKI!" Raido gasped. Gamama then pulled out yet ANOTHER gun and aimed it at Raido. (This guy's butt is an arsenal. xD lol, get it? *brick'd*)

"You just don't give up, do you?!" he snarled. Raido frowned and blasted a weak deathblow, shattering the gun.

"You're pretty persistent yourself, A-hole," he snarled, jumping to his feet. Gamama threw a punch, but Raido parried it.

"You've been a nuisance since the beginning," Gamama hissed, "I'll stop at nothing to destroy you."

"I can see that!" Raido exclaimed, dodging another punch.

"Then let this day be the end of this!" Gamama snarled.

"I agree for once! Let's end this!" Raido yelled.


	12. Keroro Platoon Vs Gamama

**Keroro Gunso**

**Keroro Platoon VS. Gamama – Battle Determining Fate! …de arimasu!**

Tamama watched Raido and Gamama blast deathblows at each other for awhile before looking back at the others. Keroro, Dororo, and Giroro had gone to Daikiki and Nozizi. The older four had worried looks on their faces. Tamama ran to them quickly.

"What's wrong?" he asked. He looked over at Nozizi; he was a bit paler than usual and his breathing was raspy. A medium-sized pool of blood rested under his injured leg.

"He's losing blood fast…" Giroro said quietly.

"He's not going to make it if he doesn't get medical attention soon," Dororo said nervously. Tears immediately fell from Daikiki's eyes.

"No… no, he can't die! Nozizi! Hang on! Please!" he sobbed. Hikiki and Kururu got up and went to them.

"There has to be something we can do!" Hikiki cried. Keroro looked around.

"Is there a way to contact Pururu?" he asked, referring to his childhood friend who also happened to be a Chief Medic. Kururu pulled out a cell phone and held it up.

"No," he replied, "There's no signal in here…"

There was suddenly a yelp. Tamama whirled around to find what was happening. Eddodo had tackled Gamama and bitten down on his arm.

"Eddodo! What are you doing?!" Raido gasped. Eddodo took his teeth away.

"Raido, help Nozizi! In trouble! Now!" Eddodo yelled, "No worry! Eddodo hold Gamama off!" Raido nodded and ran back to the group. He had a few scratches on his arms that trickled a bit of blood.

"Nozizi! Can you hear me?!" he asked.

"He can't; he's unconscious…" Daikiki said nervously, "He's going to die without medical attention!" Raido looked behind himself; Eddodo was still holding Gamama off.

"Where's your ship?" he asked.

"W-What?" Daikiki asked.

"Where's your ship, Daikiki?"

"I-It's broken down inside the cave…" Daikiki replied.

"Can you still teleport?"

"No. The Teleporter's broken. It can only be repaired through computer." Raido looked at Hikiki.

"Hikiki, is your laptop here?" he asked her.

"Well- yeah. I always have my laptop," she said, pulling her laptop from the outer who-knows-where.

"She ALWAYS has her-" Kururu started.

"Shut up, I heard her the first time," Raido snapped, "Hikiki, listen; I need you and Kururu to hack into the ship's master computer and reboot it. Get the Teleporter started and we can get Daikiki, Nozizi, and Eddodo back to Keron in no time so that Nozizi can get to a doctor."

"But what about you?!" Hikiki started.

"Hikiki! I really need you to do this! Nozizi's life depends on it!" Raido said, "You can do this!" Hikiki hesitated a moment. After a moment, she saluted him.

"Hai… Leader-dono," she replied with a small smile. Raido nodded merely and gave a smile.

"You can help her, right?" he asked Kururu.

"She shouldn't need it-" Kururu started. Suddenly, there was a loud electrocution shock and a shriek. They whirled around to see Eddodo lying on the cave floor, sparking black.

(Kururu's POV)

"EDDODO!" Raido screamed, tearing after Gamama and attacking him. Hikiki and Kururu quickly ran to a safer side of the cave. Hikiki opened her laptop and turned it on.

"D#% it!" she shrieked, "Why can't this thing boot any faster?!" Kururu watched as Raido and Gamama attacked each other with electrifying deathblows. He looked back at Hikiki. Finally, she reached the login screen. Before she could type in her password, there was a scream. She and Kururu immediately looked back at Raido and Gamama. Raido was lying next to Eddodo; they sparked in unison. Gamama approached Raido and charged a deathblow. Hikiki got up quickly and attacked Gamama, causing him to miss.

"DON'T YOU DARE KILL HIM!" she screamed. Gamama threw her into a wall and blasted her with his deathblow full-force. Kururu felt his heart stop as Hikiki gave an ear piercing shriek and she fell limply to the floor.

"HIKIKI!" he and Raido screamed. Eddodo jumped up immediately and tackled Gamama over. Kururu ran quickly to Hikiki.

"Hiki-chan? Are you okay? Say something!" he said frantically. Hikiki said nothing. Raido ran to her and dropped beside her.

"Hikiki…? Wake up… please!" he pleaded. Hikiki didn't even stir. Kururu took her hand and held it to his cheek.

"Please! Say anything! Call me Dingbat! Please!" he begged. Hikiki's head fell to the side limply. Kururu felt like he was going to be sick. He loved her so much; he desperately wanted her to open her eyes. Raido took her other hand, feeling her wrist.

"Okay… she still has a pulse," he sighed in relief. He stroked her cheek. Kururu frowned and looked away slightly. He knew it was wrong to feel jealous at the moment, but since when did he EVER do the right thing? He felt someone touch his arm. He looked over and saw Raido.

"Kururu, I need you to do something for me," he said with a very serious expression. Kururu hated doing favors – especially for Raido.

"No," he spat, "I wouldn't help you do ANYTH-"

"I need you to hack the computer and make sure Hikiki is safe," Raido interrupted. Kururu was rather surprised by this. He started to panic.

"W-What? You want me to watch her?!" he asked. Raido nodded.

"I would watch her myself, but if I don't get Gamama out of here, no one is safe. He'll kill her if I get distracted. So, I need you to guard her with your life," he replied. Kururu felt so… privileged.

"Raido…" he muttered.

"Please! I'm counting on you! If that means nothing to you, then Hikiki's counting on you!" Raido said louder. Meanwhile, Gamama had thrown Eddodo into a wall and caused him to fall unconscious. Raido grew frantic.

"Kururu, I'm sorry that you don't see me as a friend! If there was a way I could change it I would!" he cried. Kururu started to feel a weird feeling that he had never felt before. It was a mix of sadness and regret. It was… guilt. Gamama grabbed Raido by his neck. Raido continued to plead with Kururu.

"Just don't let him hurt her anymore! PLEASE!" he screamed frantically as Gamama dragged him back. Gamama threw him to the ground and blasted his deathblow. Raido rolled over quickly and dodged it. Kururu looked down at Hikiki; she was lying peacefully on the floor. He couldn't let her down. He couldn't let her boyfriend down. He lifted her up carefully in his arms and stood up.

"Oi, Raido," he called out. Raido slammed Gamama into the ground and looked up with the time he had. Kururu nodded.

"You can count on me," he said, then pausing, "After all… I couldn't let either of my best friends and acquaintances down." Raido smiled.

"I knew you'd come around," he replied. He didn't have time for small talk as Gamama blasted him with his deathblow.

Kururu ran back to Hikiki's laptop, carefully resting its owner beside him. It was time to put his new computer hacking skills to the test. He looked at the monitor and felt his heart drop. It was still on the login screen without a password. He froze. He hadn't ever logged into her laptop before. He always hacked it, which he couldn't do anymore since he couldn't crack Hikiki's new security system, nor did he have another computer at that moment. There had to be some sort of word that she would use as a password.

He typed in the first word that he though for sure it would be: "Raido." Access was denied. He tried "Dingbat." Access was denied. He tried "Ramen". Access was yet again denied. He looked over at her. She was helplessly unconscious; she couldn't tell him what it was. He looked back at the monitor; he had to persist. He continued to guess at random. Every time the computer displayed "Access Denied," he felt worse and worse. He couldn't fail her. He just couldn't.

(Tamama's POV)

Tamama felt helpless as he watched Raido and Gamama attack each other. He felt like he should help, but he didn't want to get in the way. With three soldiers already unconscious, Tamama wasn't sure how trying to help would benefit anyone. He looked back at Nozizi; he was a bit paler. Daikiki sobbed silently on him.

"Please don't die… you're like my kid brother…" he muttered. Keroro nudged Tamama.

"Maybe there's a way to buy us some time," he said, "Any ideas?" Tamama couldn't let Keroro down; he had to have an idea.

"Do you have any bandages?" he asked. Keroro sweatdropped.

"Oh yeah… cuz' I walk around everywhere with a bunch of bandages…" he said exasperatedly. Dororo put his hand up his hat and pulled out a few bandages.

"Here you go, Keroro-kun," he smiled. Keroro blinked and accepted the bandages. He turned around and patched up Nozizi's leg. He bled through the bandage.

"Shoot," Keroro muttered, "We need something to stop the bleeding…" Dororo shoved his hand up his hat again and pulled out a tube of some sort of medicine and more bandages.

"Here you go, Keroro-kun," he smiled. Keroro's jaw dropped and he stared at Dororo.

"What the heck are you?! A pharmacy?!" he asked, taking the medicine and bandages. Dororo shrugged.

"Laugh all you want, but my assistance comes in ha-" he started. Keroro immediately took the first part of that sentence seriously and pointed at Dororo and started laughing hysterically. Dororo frowned and kicked him in the head.

"Give me that, idiot," he snarled, taking the medicine and bandages back and tending to Nozizi himself. Tamama blinked; he had never seen Dororo act like this. He supposed that when in desperate situations like this, there was no time for a trauma switch. That or Dororo had just put up with Keroro's crud long enough.

Dororo finished patching up Nozizi's leg. This time, it didn't bleed through.

"Here, keep it level," Giroro said to Daikiki, helping him rest Nozizi's leg straight. Daikiki looked up at them with a gentle stare.

"Why are you guys doing this…? What about our first encounter…? You don't hate us for that…?" he asked. Tamama shook his head.

"No, we don't hate you guys…" he said.

"We know you guys were jerks before, but you can't ALWAYS be like that, right?" Keroro asked. Daikiki lowered his head a bit.

"I apologize for our behavior…" he said softly. Giroro put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, no worries, alright? We're all friends," he replied. Daikiki smiled slightly.

(Kururu's POV)

Access denied. Access denied. Access denied. It seemed like that was the only thing the computer could display. Kururu had typed in every word he could think of. All were failures. He even tried the word "Failure" and it was a failure. He had finally resorted to typing in random garbles. He looked back at Hikiki; she was still unconscious. He didn't want to fail her, but there was nothing else he could try. He typed in another garble. It was rejected. He screamed in fury and pounded his fist into the ground.

"NO! This can't be! What did she set as the stupid password?!" he asked rhetorically.

"Kururu…"

He turned his head towards Hikiki. Her breathing was normalizing and she coughed a little, stirring.

"Hikiki, you're okay…" he smiled, sitting himself beside her and taking her hand. She opened her eyes slowly.

"Kururu…" she said quietly. Kururu felt his cheeks burn and he stroked her cheek as Raido had.

"Yes, Hiki-chan…?" he asked. Hikiki lifted one hand and placed it over his.

"Kururu…" she said again. Kururu got impatient.

"Alright, you've said my name quite a few times now; what do you want?" he asked irritably. Hikiki applied a bit of pressure to Kururu's hand. She chuckled a little.

"The password is 'Kururu', dingbat," she smiled. Kururu blushed.

"H-Hiki-chan…?" he asked. She smiled.

"I knew you would never guess it…" she chuckled softly. Kururu looked up at the computer.

"Do you think you can still do this?" he asked. Hikiki sat herself up with one arm. As she attempted to move the other one, she yelped, falling flat on her back.

"Ergh, no…" she said, clenching her teeth in pain, "My arm's broken..."

"It's alright, lie down. I'll get it," Kururu said. He turned back to the computer and quickly typed in "Kururu." Access was granted at last.

(Tamama's POV again)

"Hey! We've got it!" Kururu called. Tamama looked up. Kururu held up a thumb.

"Okay, let's get Eddodo and get you guys back to Keron," Keroro said. Daikiki lifted up Nozizi and made a run for the ship. Tamama ran to Eddodo, dodging deathblows and ducking under thrown objects. He slung one of Eddodo's arms around his shoulder and lifted him up. As he looked up, he noticed Daikiki getting closer to the ship with Nozizi. Gamama noticed too. He punched Raido into the wall.

"Corporal! I didn't tell you to retreat!" he yelled. Daikiki snapped a glare at him.

"Kiss it, lard-head!" he yelled. Gamama was furious. He stored up a deathblow. Tamama couldn't let him harm Daikiki or Nozizi any further.

"TAMAMA IMPACT!" he screamed quickly, blasting Gamama with a powerful shot. Gamama fell to the ground.

"Run! You don't have time!" Tamama called. Daikiki nodded and dashed into the ship. Tamama ran after him, making sure to run over Gamama on the way. (YAY!)

He dropped Eddodo off in the control room with Daikiki. He looked around the control room; it was badly damaged from Raido's deathblow.

"Okay, I've got it!" Daikiki said, typing in a last few bits of input into the Teleporter, "Thanks for your help."

"No problem," Tamama said. He turned to run off, but Daikiki stopped him.

"Please… tell Raido and Hikiki that we're sorry. And tell them that we'll come back for them," he said. Tamama nodded.

"I will. It's a promise, desu," he vowed.

He ran out of the ship quickly. Shortly after, it flashed white and vanished.

"NO!" Gamama screamed.

"Tough luck, Gamama," Raido snarled, "They weren't your Platoon to begin with!" Gamama whirled around blasted him with another deathblow. Raido screamed and hit the floor. Gamama approached him. Raido opened his mouth to send out a deathblow, but could only muster enough strength to cough out a few sparks. Gamama put one foot on his throat. Raido was quite helpless at this point.

"I've had enough. You won't ever see them again. You can kiss the sweet universe good-bye," Gamama growled, jabbing a gun at Raido's forehead. With Kururu's assistance, Hikiki got up and stormed up to Gamama and aimed a gun at his head, keeping her finger rested lightly over the trigger. Gamama froze. He turned his head slowly and looked at her.

"Back away from my boyfriend… NOW," she snarled threateningly. Gamama smirked.

"Sergeant Major, don't think I've forgotten. You always had objections to holding weapons. You wouldn't pull the trigger if your own life was on the line," he said. Hikiki frowned and pointed the gun at the ceiling, firing thrice.

Gamama shielded his face and looked back at her.

"You coward…" he said, "You can't even shoot what you were aiming fo-"

As he spoke, a few rocks fell from where Hikiki had fired and hit him in the head. He fell over unconscious.

"You have no room to talk, dingbat," Hikiki hissed, tossing the gun to the floor. Raido rose up and rubbed at his neck where Gamama had stepped on him him. He quickly recovered and threw his arms around Hikiki.

"Way to go, Hikiki! That's my girl!" he laughed. Hikiki winced as she smiled.

"Okay, that's my gunshot wound and my broken arm," she said. Raido immediately loosened his hold on her and sweatdropped.

"Sorry, Hiki-chan," he smiled. Hikiki chuckled and kissed him.

"That was fantastic!" Keroro exclaimed, "Raido was all 'BLAM BLAM BLAM! BOOM!' and Tamama was all 'RAWR, JEALOUSY!' and Hikiki was all 'DIE, SCUM!' and Gamama was all 'AUGH! MOMMY!' and it was so cool…" The others just stared at him. Finally, Raido fake-smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"Special…" he said.

"Did the guys make it to the ship okay?" Hikiki asked.

"Yeah, they're fine," Giroro replied. Tamama remembered Daikiki's words.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot! Daikiki wanted me to tell you guys that once he gets Eddodo and Nozizi healed that they'll come back for you two!" he said. Raido smiled.

"Really?" he grinned.

"This is great! We'll finally be the Platoon we dreamed of forming four years ago!" Hikiki smiled. Raido grinned and kissed her.

"Is there ever an occasion where you can't do that…?" Keroro asked. Raido sweatdropped.

"Sorry, Gunso, but she's not your girlfriend," he laughed. Keroro rolled his eyes.

"Like heck she isn't! Mine is-" he started.

"Right here!" Kururu cackled, giving Tamama a push. Tamama blushed.

"Er, what…?" he asked. Keroro laughed.

"What are you talking about, Kururu?! Tamama can't be my girlfriend; he's a guy. Besides, we're just friends, right?" he asked. Tamama didn't answer. He didn't want to. Keroro sweatdropped.

"Um… why so hesitant to answer, Tamama…?" he asked nervously.

In the instant Tamama had looked away, he heard a gun click as it loaded. He shifted his eyes over in Raido's direction. Gamama stood behind Hikiki with a gun to her head. Raido stood beside Gamama with the gun Hikiki had previously held against Gamama's head. Neither moved. Gamama merely shifted his eyes over at Raido.

"Don't move, or I'll shoot," Raido threatened. Gamama glared.

"You're bluffing…" he snarled, "You wouldn't shoot; you're like your pretty little girl."

There was another click. Tamama looked over at Gamama's opposite side. Kururu stood with a gun against Gamama's head. He glared at him menacingly.

"I won't," Raido smirked, "But HE will."

"Dang straight," Kururu spat. Gamama sweatdropped and dropped his last gun. Kururu grabbed him by his cape collar.

"Aim at her again, and you'll wish your existence would decease," he hissed.

"Relax, Kururu," Raido said. Kururu gave him a shocked stare.

"But, Raido-! He shot at her-!" he protested. Raido put a hand up to silence him.

"Relax. He won't shoot another bullet as long as he lives," he said, "Do you still have the Teleporter?" Kururu blinked. Apparently, he forgot that he still had it. It would've saved them the trouble of hacking the computer and worrying about Nozizi's life.

"Y-yes…?" he replied hesitantly. Raido smiled.

"Perfect…" he said, "Bring us the portal."

"The what…?" Gamama asked nervously. Hikiki smiled an evil smile.

"If Raido's doing what I think he's doing, you'd rather be in prison…" she cackled. Kururu pulled out the Teleporter and pressed the button. The portal appeared before them.

"Now, can you think of a planet that is full of pureness and innocence?" Raido asked. Kururu had an immediate response.

"The world of 'My Little Pony' in an alternate universe," he said. Tamama burst out laughing. Kururu said it with such a serious expression; it was hilarious. Raido grinned.

"Perfect!" he exclaimed, opening the door to the portal. Gamama actually expressed sheer terror.

"No, no, no! You don't understand! Maybe we had a misunderstanding?!" he asked.

"NO KIDDING!" Raido spat, giving Gamama a push towards the portal. Gamama stretched his arms and legs out to prevent going in.

"Please don't do this, I have a fear of pink!" he insisted. Hikiki snorted.

"HAH! Likely story!" she scoffed, gesturing to her pink complexion. Gamama sweatdropped more.

"No really, I'm DEATHLY afraid of you," he lied nervously, "Look, we can sort things out, right? We can talk this over, settle this like adults. You understand, right, Raidodo?" Raido exploded.

"DON'T CALL ME RAIDODO!" he yelled, kicking Gamama in through the portal. With a final yelp, that was the last the saw of Gamama.

"Yikes… remind me to never mess with you…" Keroro sweatdropped. Raido shut the portal and chuckled.

"That was long overdue. Don't you worry about a thing," he smiled, checking a gash on his arm. Kururu walked over to Hikiki and touched her broken arm gingerly.

"You both got beat up pretty bad…" he said. Hikiki chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess so," she replied. Keroro put his arms around Raido and Hikiki's shoulders.

"Come on, guys. Let's go home," he said. Kururu took out the Teleporter. All seven placed a hand on the invention and they all traveled back to the Hinata's – together.


	13. Raido and Hikiki, Final Farewell?

**Keroro Gunso**

**Raido and Hikiki – The Final Farewell? …de arimasu.**

It had been a week since the big rumble. Since then, everyone had seemed to rest easier. Hikiki's arm had healed very quickly; she and Kururu started working much harder on their mentoring sessions. They still were easily infuriated by the other; Kururu was ignorant and refused to follow some of Hikiki's directions, and Hikiki still hadn't managed to build a working invention. On the contrary, they were still best friends – or rather – best acquaintances. In addition, Raido was beginning to treat the Keroro Platoon as if they were his own brothers. They had become practically one with the Platoon. However, Keroro knew that in the great words of Robert Frost, "…nothing gold can stay…"

Tamama walked into Keroro's room late that afternoon. Raido was talking with Dororo and Giroro. They all seemed very happy; laughing and grinning at each other as they joked around and socialized. Just watching the conversation made him feel happy. He noticed Keroro watching from the other side of the room. His mood seemed rather contrast. He went to him.

"Gunso-san…? What's wrong?" he asked. Keroro looked over at him and then back at Raido.

"They've been such great friends… haven't they?" he asked. Tamama looked over at them.

"Hai, desu, but why does that make you sad?" he asked. Keroro sighed.

"Raido-san and Hiki-chan have been with us for over a month. We've all been through good times and bad times; laughing and crying. We've all learned so much from each other and become like an inseparable family. But…" He broke off. Tamama waited quietly. Keroro found his voice again,

"The rest of their friends will be back for them shortly. Our time together – like our time left for invasion – is limited. We won't be seeing them for much longer. It will be hard to watch them go," he finished.

Tamama had never realized this. Keroro was right. Daikiki had said that they would be back as soon as they got Nozizi medical help. It had been a week; surely they would return soon. He felt sick as he realized that they may be spending their last days with Raido and Hikiki. They were already the siblings he never had.

"We should make our final days worth while…" Keroro continued, "I shouldn't mope around like this. There's still time." Again, he was right.

"Hai, Gunso-san!" Tamama replied enthusiastically, "What should we do?"

"Well… for starters, we should find out!" Keroro exclaimed, "Hey, Raido!" Raido looked over Dororo and Giroro.

"Yeah, Gunso?" he asked with a smile.

"Anything you want to do today? Just… for fun?" Keroro asked. Giroro gave him an exasperated stare. Keroro returned it.

"I don't mind hanging out outside," Raido replied, "If you want, I can show you guys how to skateboard. My friends have always agreed that I'm the best instructor there is!"

"That sounds like fun! We can give it a try!" Keroro smiled. He and the others went to the door.

"You guys have boards, right?" Raido asked.

"Sure do!" Keroro replied. Giroro looked over at him.

"What are you doing? Why are we slacking off again?" he hissed quietly. Keroro leaned over a bit.

"Will you relax? I don't know how much longer we have with Raido and Hikiki, so I'm trying to make the best of it!" he whispered. Dororo looked over at them with a confused expression.

"That being said, where is Hikiki?" he asked.

(Hikiki's POV. Oh boy, here we go...)

"No! You're doing it wrong!" Kururu hissed. Hikiki rolled her eyes and groaned, slamming the wrench down on the table.

"That's because you're not showing me how to do it right, dingbat!" she barked. She and Kururu had been working constantly on this invention for hours. It was supposed to be an airboard, but apparently, she wasn't connecting the fuel tank to the rest of the board right. Her hands ached from tightening and loosening screws and bolts.

"Alright, watch carefully this time," Kururu said calmly, "You don't tighten this bolt; you don't touch it. You have too many screws over here; you don't want the fuel tank to be impossible to remove. So just take off two from the left side and that one on the bottom right. Okay?"

"Alright…" Hikiki sighed. She picked up the screwdriver and went to taking off the screws.

Kururu had been very patient with her. She began to feel a bit bad about snapping at him so much. She was lucky he was even helping her at all. He was only trying to help.

"Hey, hey, not that one," Kururu said sternly. Hikiki snapped out of her thoughts and realized that she was starting to try and take off the wrong screw.

"Sorry, Kururu-senpai," she muttered, tightening back on and taking off the right one. Once she was finished, she set the screwdriver down and wiped away at the small sweat from her forehead.

"Okay, what next?" she asked. Kururu examined the interior of the board a little.

"Just close it up and it should be good to go," he replied.

Hikiki was surprised by this answer.

"Really?" she asked. Kururu nodded. Hikiki closed up the board and picked it up,

"It's awfully lightweight…" she commented.

"Good, it should be," Kururu replied, "Give it a little test run." She set on the floor and put her heel on the switch on the back. The small engine inside whirred a little and lifted up a bit. She couldn't believe it; it was finally a success.

"I-It works!" she exclaimed.

"It does! It actually works! You did it!" Kururu said with a bit of excitement. Hikiki landed it and jumped off, taking Kururu's hands in hers.

"I couldn't have done it without the help of the best teacher," she smiled. Kururu blushed and a small, proud grin showed on his face.

"Eh… I am, aren't I?" he asked. Hikiki chuckled and let his hands go.

Just then, the lab door opened. Keroro poked his head in.

"Yo, homies," he grinned.

"Go away," Kururu said disgustedly, turning away and blushing severely.

"Well, I'm sorry to interrupt your session, but Raido was going to show us how to skateboard. Wanna come?" Keroro asked.

"No-" Kururu started.

"Ohh, yes! We'd love to!" Hikiki smiled. She had always loved skateboarding with Raido. She wanted Kururu to know what it was like. She looked over at him, "Please, Kururu-senpai? Could we? It's so much fun!" Kururu was hesitant.

"Well… I don't know…" he started. Hikiki took his hands again.

"Please…?" she begged with a sweet smile. Kururu blushed.

"A-All right," he said finally.

"Yay!" Hikiki squeaked, "Arigato, Kururu!" She picked up the airboard, "We can test this out more if you'd like!" Kururu smiled.

"It's nice to find you so enthusiastic about your first invention," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. Hikiki beamed.

"Aww! This is one of those moments I will treasure for life!" Keroro exclaimed, wiping at a joyful tear. Kururu's face reddened in embarrassment.

"Would you go away?! We'll be there in a minute!" he snapped.

"Fine then. I'll see you later… …you two," Keroro said with a "Bow Chika Wow Wow" expression.

Once outside, Tamama inhaled a breath of fresh air. It had been awhile since he had been able to come outside and relax. Dororo came out with the Keroro Platoon's skateboards. Keroro ran outside frantically. Kururu and Hikiki came running out after him.

"SAY IT AGAIN! I DARE YOU TO SAY IT AGAIN!" Kururu screamed.

"It was mere playful chat! Don't hurt me!" Keroro squealed, giggling.

"Kururu! He's not serious! Keroro, tell him you were kidding!" Hikiki called. Keroro didn't reply for awhile.

"Well… to be honest… I wasn't," he grinned. Hikiki's face reddened.

"YOU'RE DEAD, GUNSO!" she screamed, joining the chase. Tamama didn't know whether to start deathblowing people or to laugh.

"Guys, quit," Raido laughed. Hikiki immediately stopped and went to Raido. She held a board without wheels. Raido cocked his head.

"Hmm? What's this?" Raido asked. Hikiki handed it to him.

"My first invention," she smiled. Raido smiled at her.

"Are you serious?!" he asked excitedly. Hikiki beamed and nodded. Raido threw his arms around her.

"Ohh, Hiki-chan, I'm so happy for you! This is great!" he grinned.

Keroro ran past them. Kururu ran after him. Raido grabbed Kururu by the arm.

"Hey, buddy, thanks for helping Hikiki out with inventing. It really means a lot to her. Being able to see her so happy is truly a joy. Thank you," he smiled, giving Kururu a man-hug. Kururu pretended not to like the friendship gesture.

"Hey! Ew! No hugging! That's not cool! Stop it!" he wailed. Raido let him go.

"Okay, okay, go kill Gunso for whatever he said," he grinned. Kururu stopped a moment to look at Raido.

"Thanks…" he said quietly, "…buddy." Then he took off. Raido beamed.

"I knew he had a soft spot," he chuckled. Hikiki chuckled and took his hand.

"Wanna go them?" she asked. Raido smiled and looked up at the other three.

"How about it, guys?" he asked. Giroro shrugged.

"If we're fooling around today… why not?" he said with a smile, "Alright, Keroro! You can run but you can't hide!" Dororo smiled.

"Just like the old days," he smiled, taking off after them. Hikiki went to Tamama and took his hand.

"Come on! Let's go!" she smiled, leading him to chase after Keroro. Even though it seemed strange and childish, Tamama found it rather fun.

They all chased each other around the yard until the sun had set and the evening sky was a sheet of dark blue and sparkling stars. They laughed and joked around, throwing playful insults at each other. Tamama never wanted it to end. He, Kururu, Raido, and Hikiki had all dog piled Keroro.

"Okay! Okay, I give!" Keroro rasped.

"No way, Gunso, we're not backing down that easy. Tickle him," Hikiki said. Keroro sweatdropped.

"No!" he wailed. Giroro and Raido got into a tickle fight with him. "No! Stop it! That tickles! Stop it!" Keroro laughed.

There was an odd sound that towered over Keroro's laughs. Tamama looked up towards the sky. A Keronian aircraft hovered down to the middle of the Hinata's yard. The seven all stood up and looked at it.

"Could it be…?" Hikiki asked. Tamama looked over at Keroro. He stared at it incredulously.

"No way…"he said quietly, "They came back already…?"

The ship's door opened up with a hissing noise. Daikiki stepped out. He looked up at the group and smiled.

"Hey…" he greeted quietly. He walked towards them.

"Daikiki…" Raido smiled. The two laughed and man-hugged.

"Hey, Raido. It's been awhile, hasn't it?" Daikiki asked.

"Try four years," Hikiki said. Daikiki chuckled and put his arms around her.

"Ah, that's our little Princess…" he sighed. Hikiki giggled. Kururu rolled his eyes.

Behind him, Tamama noticed two others step out. Eddodo and Nozizi were okay. Nozizi had his leg wrapped in a cast. Eddodo helped him limp out of the ship.

"Raido! Hiki-chan!" Nozizi squeaked. Raido grinned.

"Nozizi, you're okay!" he exclaimed. Nozizi went to them quickly and embraced them.

"Thank you guys so much for everything. Raido for saving my life twice and Hiki-chan for bringing her laptop to hack into the Teleporter!" he squeaked. He looked over at Dororo.

"You're the one who wrapped my leg up, aren't you?" he asked. Dororo nodded.

"Yes, that's me," he replied. Nozizi smiled and hugged him.

"Thanks so much!" he smiled. He looked at Keroro, Giroro, and Tamama.

"You all helped with diversions, medical care, and ideas right?" he asked.

"Pretty much," Keroro said. Nozizi smiled and hugged each of them.

"Thank you guys too," he smiled, then looking at Kururu.

"You must be the hacker," he said. Kururu sweatdropped.

"Yes…" he replied. Nozizi smiled and went to hug him. Kururu pulled away quickly.

"NO-! …Thank you…" Kururu said, avoiding hugs. Nozizi shrugged.

"No, thank YOU," he said.

Eddodo smiled at Tamama.

"Eddodo thank Raido friend. Raido friend help Eddodo. Eddodo promise to help Raido friend someday," he said. Tamama smiled back.

"Thanks. That means a lot, desu~," he replied. Eddodo held his hand out. Tamama shook it.

"So… um… we were just wondering…" Daikiki said, "Raido… Hikiki… would you guys like to start over…? Pretend none of us were separated and we can go back to Keron and convince our school to let us form a Platoon?" Raido looked back at the Keroro Platoon. He looked back at Daikiki.

"No. We can still form a Platoon, but I don't want to forget any of this. This whole experience made all of us stronger as individuals and as a team," he said. Daikiki gazed at him awhile before smiling and nodding.

"Fair enough. Hey, if we're going to be getting back to Keron, we should leave soon," he said. Raido nodded.

"Okay," he replied.

Raido turned around to face the Keroro Platoon. Tamama stared at him and Hikiki. It felt strange. Almost like it was the last time he would see them ever again. He looked at Keroro; tears trembled in his eyes.

"So… I guess… I guess this is good-bye…" he sniffled. Raido gave him a sympathetic gaze and he wrapped his arms around him.

"No, this isn't good-bye, it's only TTFN," he said. Keroro cocked his head. Raido chuckled and smiled, "It means 'Ta ta for now.'" Keroro laughed and hugged Raido back with one arm and pulled Hikiki in with the other.

"We're gonna miss you," he said to them. Tamama went and gave them a hug as well. Giroro and Dororo also joined in on it. Kururu watched quietly from a distance. Hikiki gave Tamama a kiss on the forehead and pulled away from the group. She went to Kururu.

"Hey, best acquaintance," she smiled, "I'll bet you'll be glad that you don't have to waste anymore time teaching me about inventing."

"No…" Kururu said quietly. Hikiki cocked her head to one side. Kururu was quiet a moment, "I-I have something for you." He handed her a disk in a pitch black case.

"What's this…?" Hikiki asked curiously.

"It-It's a DVD I made for you about how to invent some other things. I figured… if I wasn't always going to be with you that I had to have some way of knowing you were going in the right direction," he replied. Hikiki smiled.

"Aw, thank you, Kururu-senpai…" she cooed. Kururu blushed and held out his hand to her.

"Well… good-bye, Hiki-chan…" he said quietly. Hikiki looked at his hand and then at him. She smiled and threw her arms around him. Kururu was rather surprised by the gesture, but he didn't mind it at all. Hikiki loosened her hug slightly and kissed him tenderly on the cheek. Kururu's cheeks reddened a bright red. Hikiki pulled away and smiled at him.

"Catch you on the flipside, dingbat," she crooned, winking at him. Kururu blushed more.

"Erm… see ya…" he said nervously.

Hikiki turned and went back to Raido, who was just then leaving from his hug. The two went back to their old friends.

"Okay, we're ready," Raido said. Daikiki nodded. He, Nozizi, Eddodo, Raido, and Hikiki headed back towards the ship.

"Hey, wait!" a voice called. Raido and Hikiki looked up. Tamama looked down the street and saw Masaru. He ran to them quickly.

"Don't leave without telling me good-bye!" he said, reaching their destination. Raido and Hikiki smiled and gave him a hug.

"Thanks for taking care of us, Masaru-dono," Raido smiled.

"You're a good kid, make sure you don't change," Hikiki smiled. They released Masaru and went with their friends. They all boarded the ship and turned to face the Keroro Platoon.

"Yo, Gunso," Raido called out. Keroro looked at him. Raido gave him a reassuring smile, "Don't lose your Spark of Inspiration." Keroro smiled and saluted Raido and his friends.

"I won't…" he vowed. The rest of his Platoon and Masaru saluted. Raido and Hikiki smiled and all five of them saluted.

Slowly, the ship's door began to close. Once it shut, the ship slowly hovered above the ground before rising up higher and higher. With a whir of the engine, the ship sped off into the night sky and into outer space. The moment they were out of sight, Keroro broke into quiet sobs. Tamama released tears of his own and put his arms around Keroro in an act of comfort. Giroro, Masaru, and Dororo went and joined the hug. Even Kururu reluctantly went to join in. Keroro's cries were so weak and pitiful; Keroro seemed almost ashamed to be letting it out.

Tamama tightened his hold on Keroro and said quietly,

"We know, Gunso-san. We'll miss them too."

**END**


End file.
